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8 Pages Rs: 1.00 Jammu Edition www.thestudentage.com

STUdent aGE
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 75

Sanjay Dutt should be pardoned on humanitarian grounds: Katju

Myopic view of Sri Lanka won't help anyone

Bank loans to infra projects are secured lending: Chidambaram

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WITH A LOT OF HOME WORK

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22: Two Italians Marines have returned to India with confidence and lot of evidence to support their action of shooting at the Indian fishermen on the high seas. Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are being escorted by Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Staffan de Mistura on a military special aircraft. With the evidence gathered in their favour, the marines could serve their prison term in Italy. India and Italy have an agreement on the transfer of prisoners. Whether they returned due to diplomatic efforts or the tough stand taken by the Supreme Court is a debatable subject. While the SC verdict is in the open, the diplomacy always is conducted behind closed doors and nothing will be revealed, unless one of the parties breaks the diplomatic code. But one this is clear, the Italians have utilised their time in Rome to build their defence. Latorre and Girone were grilled on Wednesday by Italian prosecutors, who also conducted a technical review of the computer and the camera aboard the Enrica Lexie merchant ship from where the shooting took place. Italy has insisted that the marines, who allegedly mistook fishermen Jelestine Valentine and Ajesh Binki for pirates, should not be tried in India as the incident took place in international waters. The camera and computer aboard the ship where the incident took place are expected to provide details of the case

DIPLOMATIC WIN OR A POLITICAL COMPROMISE ?

ITALIAN MARINES RETURN WITH CONFIDENCE

SONIA STRUCK A DEAL OR TOOK A TOUGH STAND?
Few sections of Italian media, however, have given credit to Mrs Gandhi for taking a tough stand and helping Indian government get back the marines to face trial. But, European Union too was following the issue closely, and had asked Italy in strong words to do the "right things" and send back the marines to India.

Security cover for separatists costs J&K govt over Rs 9.47 cr

JAMMU: What could be a revelation of sorts the cost of security cover incurred on the separatist leadership of Hurriyat Conference has touched the over Rs 9.47 crore in last 12 years, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday. The amount spent to provide security to separatists has also gone up from Rs 15, 70,750 in 2001 to Rs 1, 66, 10,251 in 2012. In a written reply to a question in the Assembly today, Abdullah said that Rs 9, 47, 03,700 had been incurred on the account of providing security cover to Hurriyat and separatist leaders in Kashmir valley in last 12 years.

They enjoy Indian tax payer's money yet sing for Pak

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Nearly 2 crore spent on Hurriyat security

Eng Rashid dares Hurriyat to shun security
SRINAGAR, MARCH 22: Engg Rashid the MLA from Langate has dared the Hurriyat leaders to shun security cover provided to them by the government. In response to his query that how much amount was spent on the security of Hurriyat leaders the Minister of state Home informed that in the fiscal 2012 the minister also informed that "Government is spending nearly Rs 2 crore rupees every year to provide the security cover to the Hurriyat and other separatist leaders including the expenditure made on the vehicles escorting contd on page 2 Of this, Rs 4, 96, 61,299 was spent on the salaries of Personal Security Officers (PSOs) and drivers provided for the security of Hurriyat and separatist leaders, he said. While Rs 71, 10,268 was contd on page 2

Marines' return to India stirs anger in Italy

Michele Emiliano, the mayor of Girone's hometown of Bari, said he had been comforting the marine's "despairing" family. "A hypocritical government is trying to end its embarrassment by sending the sailors back to India after exhibiting them as 'free' during the election campaign," Emiliano wrote on Twitter. Foreign Minister Terzi defended the move in an interview with la Repubblica daily on Friday, rejecting previously unavailable to the Italians. "The conversations between the captain and the marines, as well as communications with Italian authorities, are recorded on that computer," said Rome prosecutors on Wednesday. calls from centre-right politicians for him to quit. "I don't see a reason to" resign, he said, adding that the temporary stand-off with India had helped Italy ensure the marines would be treated well. "Italy falls into line," crowed one Indian television cable news channel, while cabinet minister Manish Tewari said Rome's decision to return the sailors showed that India's "gravitas is being recognised across the world". "As for the camera, images are recorded there of what was believed to be a possible attack from pirates, as are the reactions of the marines". Prosecutors also quoted the sailors testimony in their statement, which

"We had no deal anywhere. No deal in Geneva, no deal in Colombo, no deal in Rome," Mr Khurshid said.

Shalindra Kumar takes over as Div Com Kashmir

SRINAGAR, MARCH 22: Shalindra Kumar took over as Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir here today. Pertinently, Kumar prior to this posting has served as Deputy Commissioner of Anantnag and Srinagar districts, besides Secretary, Public Works Department and also was on Central deputation for a period of more than four years. Soon after assuming his charge as Divisional Commissioner, he convened a meeting with the officers and officials in his office chamber. He enjoined upon the officers to work with dedication and honesty for welfare of the people. Shalindra Kumar also exhorted upon the officers to work in a coordinated manner for expediting the ongoing development works contd on page 2

200-300 militant weighting for infiltration, Army fully prepares to tackle situation: Lt General Hooda
KISHTWAR MARCH 22: Core Commander 16 Corps Army Lt. General D.S Hooda today said that army in Jammu and Kashmir is fully prepare to tackle with both internal and external threat from militants. These remarks from Mr. Hooda came during his visit to Kishtwar where was speaking with the media persons at Kishtwar helipad on the sideline of inauguration of a railway ticket booking counter at Kishtwar. He said that army was aware about the formation of special cell by Pakistan Army all along Line of Control and Border to help the militants in infiltration contd on page 2

Swamy steals the show

It was neither Mrs Gandhi nor the government but Swamy who had moved the original Contempt against the Italian ambassador to India in the apex court. contradicts charges framed in India. The men said they "shot seven to eight rounds in the sea to discourage the approach of a ship that was different from the one showed by Indian authorities". contd on page 2

Rs. 160 cr Magnesite Plant at Panthal, Reasi cleared: Kichloo

JAMMU, MARCH 22Saying that creation of employment opportunities for un-employed youth of the State is top priority of the coalition Government, the Minister of State for Industries and Commerce, Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo today said it has been made mandatory to employ the local youth in fixed proportion adding that necessary modification have already been made in the State industrial policy for this purpose. Replying to the discussion on grants for the Departments and PSUs under his charge,

NC Cong alliance has lost moral mandate to rule, must go: Dr Nirmal Singh
JAMMU, MARCH 22: A large number of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists on Friday held a massive demonstration to expose unholy nexus between National ConferenceCongress State government and antinational elements. The BJP activists under the leadership of party's National Executive Member & former State President Dr Nirmal Singh led the massive demonstration at Nagrota. They also blocked JammuSrinagar National Highway for more than one hour. A heavy contingent of police attempted to stop them from proceeding towards Kol Kandoli and there was scuffle between policemen and party activists. Later, they sat on dharna on the road which resulted into traffic jam for almost one hour. The

Paramilitary forces be allowed to carry arms: Opposition

JAMMU: Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday protested the government's decision to disallow paramilitary forces from carrying arms which, they said, results in their suffering casualty at the hands of terrorists. Panthers Party members raised the issue as soon as the House assembled for the day, referring to the killing of a Border Security Force (BSF) trooper in Srinagar Thursday, which was preceded by a "fidayeen" or suicide attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) March 13 that left five troopers dead. "The terrorists were encouraged by the state government's decision to bar the paramilitary forces from carrying firearms in Kashmir. The terrorists are targeting the BSF and CRPF with impunity," Panthers Party's Harsh Dev Singh contended. His party members and Jammu State Morcha member Ashwani Kumar said the government should contd on page 2

Says Rs. 97 cr mega Food Park, Textile Park on anvil 16000 Artisan families brought under Health insurance
role in the socio-economic development of the State, adding that at present about 20,000 souls get their livelihood from industries directly or indirectly. He said the sector has still a vast potential for employment generation for which there was a need to create awareness among the youth about various special incentives and packages available under both Central and State industrial policies in vogue. Now, it has been decided to launch a vigorous awareness campaign at block, tehsil and district levels for the purpose, he added. Kichloo said the single window system has been made more vibrant and hassle free as a result of which 722 micro and small scale units have been cleared besides allotment of about 1638.53 kanals for setting up industrial units. He said an Apex Project Clearance Committee headed contd on page 2

in the Legislative Assembly today, Kichloo said that the Industrial sector has a key

protest programme was organized by BJP State working committee member Nand Kishore Sharma. The party activists also burnt the effigy of the NC-Congress coalition government for its soft approach towards anti-national elements and harassment of patriotic people. Dr. Nirmal contd on page 2

Discrimination with Jammu is a big issue

HINDSIGHT
ROHIT SINGH RANA f the State of Jammu and Kashmir has to remain one entity and become a model of development and tolerance then the Kashmir centric politics has to go and instead a reconciliatory, tolerant and pragmatic political narrative has to be formulated. This is the need of the hour and will prove a natural bonding material to strengthen the relationship between the three distinct parts of the State. As of now the truth is that the reconciliatory discourse within the political mindset in the State has neither taken place nor is sought to be encouraged for very obvious political calculations which have proved not only detrimen-

tal to the peace in the but have increased fault lines which are now visible every day and every minute. The political dialogue has been rendered mortgaged to the Kashmir valley interests since the dawn of independence and the result is the whole Jammu and Kashmir suffers particularly the regions of Jammu and Ladakh. Discrimination is not an imaginary issue that is sought to be projected by the Kashmir centric politicians but is a real one that is looking us in the face with increased urgency. Delimitation is one of the serious matters which has been left in the cold storage until 2026 AD. The population of Jammu division is more than that of Kashmir and the geographical compactness is also less in

Jammu compared to Kashmir. But the sheer force of Kashmir centric politics forced on docile Jammu has resulted into increase in economic, social and administrative backwardness amongst the economically backward region of Jammu. The areas with lesser means of communication and connectivity have been given unfair treatment. More particularly the people of the districts of Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua districts have been so far more unfairly treated by the delimitation commissions. Economically the people of Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Kathua and Rajouri / Poonch, Kupwara, Baramulla and Kargil and Leh have suffered. But the loss has been more to the people of Doda,

Kishtwar, Udhampur, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch due to improper representation in the J&K Legislature. Had there been fair Delimitation of Constituencies of J&K Legislative Assembly the people of these areas would have got a louder voice in the Legislature. Surely the development of these areas would have not been overlooked. But how can fair play and common sense rule when political calculations based on arbitrary and confusing phrases like Kashmiriat, Distinct Identity, Autonomy, Self rule, Special Status etc appear on the political radar of the Kashmiri dominated political system. Otherwise how come a Jammuite Hindu has not become Chief Minister of the State? When Bharkat contd on page 2

If Sanjay Dutt is not spared why is Yaseen Malik Free?

fter a protracted delay of about two decades finally the accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts have been punished. Sanjay Dutt who was involved for possessing arms illegally was also sentenced to five years jail term. We will not go into the argument whether the jail term for Dutt was harsh or not. That the Supreme Court in its wisdom found that he should be sent to jail to suffer the remaining part of the jail term is to be accepted. The matter of fact is that despite his celebrity status and a repentant attitude he could not escape the law. But here in Jammu and Kashmir we have a peculiar situation. A person like Yasin Mallik who is involved in the killing of four innocent Air Force personnel is roaming free. He is enjoying the

celebrity status in the valley and even in the national capital. He goes to Pakistan on Indian passport and meets rabid anti India terrorists like Hafiz Sayeed. When he returns Malik enjoys life as a freeman despite spewing venom against the country. The common man is obviously bewildered. How can he tolerate the double standards? He has difficult questions to ask and seeks answers. Is it that weak prosecution framed deliberately allows anti India people like Malik to enjoy the fruits of India's freedom? Or is it that our large heart is suffering from enlargement disease which has turned it into a big dust bin where men like Yasin Malik find joy and peace? Please answer the High and Mighty of this great nation. Ranasahib

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013 Militant attack on convoy act of desperation: BSF
SRINAGAR: Terming the militant attack on its convoy as an "act of desperation", Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday said there are elements who do not want peace and progress in Jammu and Kashmir. "The (militant) attack on our boys was an act of desperation by unscrupulous elements who do not want peace and progress...I will not say it indicates the rise in militancy," Inspector General of BSF, Kashmir Frontier, PS Sandhu, told reporters here. Militants yesterday ambushed a BSF convoy near Chanapora Bridge in the outskirts of the city, killing a jawan and injuring two others. Sandhu, who led his officers and jawans to pay floral tributes to the slain jawan at Subsidiary Training Centre Humhama, said despite the attack by militants the jawans were not provoked and exercised total restraint. "It was an unfortunate incident, a cowardly act on the part of militants. There was huge number of civilian movement at the time of the incident and had our boys retaliated, there would have been civilian causalities," he said. The BSF officer said the paramilitary force will not be provoked by such incident and will ensure maximum restraint in future as well. Earlier, Sandhu laid wreath on the coffin of constable Kishan Kalita before his body was flown to his native place in Assam.

CONTD.
within the stipulated time. The officers and officials of the divisional administration assured him full cooperation and support for ensuring responsive administration Pi side Stone pelter injured, shifted to Srinagar Srinagar, March 22: A youth was injured in North Kashmir's Baramulla District soon after Friday prayers when police used pellet guns to disperse the groups of youth indulging in stone-pelting. According to CNS, soon after Friday prayers, dozens of youth assembled at Azad Gunj Baramulla and started pelting stones on police and Para-military troopers. Youth raised slogans and resorted to heavy stone pelting. Police used tear smoke shells to disperse the agitated youth. However, youth didn't disperse and continued pelting stones on men in uniform. Eyewitnesses said that police used pelt guns which left five persons injured. Pir Zubir Ahmed Haqani from Khawaja Sahib, Baramulla was critically injured and he was rushed to nearby hospital where doctors directed the inmates to shift him to Srinagar. Stone pelting continued for hours after the injury of Zubir Ahmed. industrial units have been registered in the State since 2000-09 with an investment of Rs. 880 crore. He said, besides setting up new industrial Estates, the existing estates are also being upgraded in a phased manner. He said price preference to SSI sector, as marketing support, will be implemented in letter and spirit adding that violators of these guidelines shall be dealt with sternly. Kichloo said a novel handicrafts promotion initiative has been launched under Artisan Credit Card Scheme (ACC) recently to provide credit facility upto Rs. one lakh to the artisans on nominal interest rate adding that 64000 souls have been brought under the ambit of Health Insurance coverage. He said 10 handicrafts clusters of different trades for artisans of the Shahr-e-Khaas, at a cost of Rs. 64 crore, have been set-up besides distributing 500 modernized looms to artisans free of costs. As many as 8000 such looms will be provided to the artisans in a phased manner, Kichloo added. He said this year the sale of handicraft products is expected to yield Rs. 1700 crore, adding that Rs. 5.87 crore Massive skill upgradation project for carpet industry has been approved by Union Ministry of textiles where 43000 persons will be trained in carpet manufacturing. He said two Handloom Clusters Development Projects at Saidpora costing Rs. 59.60 lakh and other at Parigam, Pulwama with the cost of Rs. 60 lakh have been sanctioned this year to give boost to handloom activities in a big way. In addition, 5 Special Handloom Projects at a cumulative cost of Rs. 40 crore for South Kashmir, Central Kashmir, Leh and Kishtwar have been sent to union Ministry of Textiles for approval. Kichloo said that a mega food park costing Rs. 78 crores over an area of 400 kanals and a Mega Textile park at Grovidsar, Kathua on 200 kanals at a cost of Rs. 18.84 crore are also being development to promote major industries in the State. While highlighting achievements of various PSUs, Kichloo said that the J&K Cements, which is one of the profit making organizations in public sector, has earned a profit of Rs. 3.40 crore this year adding that one more 600 ton per day capacity cement plant at Khrew, Pulwama is also coming up. He said J&K Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (SICOP) has provided marketing support to 855 SSI units amounting to Rs. 174 crore, and Rs. 632 crore as raw material support. He said JKI is being modernized, for which Rs. 2.50 crore are being spent for revival of Government Silk Factory, Rajbagh and Rs. 2.50 crore for Government Woolen Mills Bemina. Kichloo informed the House that an ambition Rs.160 crore Magnesite Plant at Panthal, Reasi which was stuck for last 23 years has now been cleared to exploit huge reserves of dead burnt megnisite in the area. Earlier, the Minister moved a demand for a sum of Rs. 413.26 crore be granted to the Government to defray the charges which will come in the course of payment during the year ending March 31, 2014 for department and PSUs under his charge. As many as 15 members took part in discussion on demand of grants including Nasir Aslam Wani, Mrs. Indu Pawar, T. Namgyal, Er. Abdul Rashid, Ajaz Ahmed Jan, Ashok Kumar, Krishan Chander Bhagat, Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Ashwani Kumar, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Haji Mohammad Ashraf Ganai, Baldev Sharma, Javed Ahmed Dar, Yashpal Kundal and Lal Chand, Later, the concerned members withdrew their cut motions after getting satisfactory reply from the Minister. political class regardless of party affiliations to unshackle themselves from disruptive politics otherwise posterity will hold them equally responsible for being unassertive and timid.

2
Delhi Gang rape case: HC allows media to cover court proceedings
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed media to cover the day-to-day proceedings of the trial in the December 16 gangrape case which was being heard behind closed doors till date. Justice Rajiv Shakdher said, the trial court will allow access to one representative journalist of each of the accredited national dailies. Allowing the plea of a group of accredited journalists from the high court, the judge said, the reporters from two national news agencies and other national dailies shall share their stories with the representatives of other newspapers and members of the electronic media. The court, however, asked the media not to disclose the name of the victim or any of her family members. The high court also hoped that the media will confine its reporting to the news and will not transgress into areas in the trial court's domain. The 23year-old victim was gang raped in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16 last. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

With a lot....
The images from the camera may prove what kind of ship was involved. Even if the marines did kill the fishermen, high-ranking Italian military have defended their actions as following proper protocol in territory known for pirate attacks. But this is what the Indian Supreme Court said in its judgement in January about the jurisdiction: "While India is entitled both under its Domestic Law and the Public International Law to exercise rights of sovereignty upto 24 nautical miles from the baseline on the basis of which the width of Territorial Waters is measured, it can exercise only sovereign rights within the Exclusive Economic Zone for certain purposes." "The incident of firing from the Italian vessel on the Indian shipping vessel having occurred within the Contiguous Zone, the Union of India is entitled to prosecute the two Italian marines under the criminal justice system prevalent in the country. However, the same is subject to the provisions of Article 100 of UNCLOS 1982. " "Admittedly, the incident took place at a distance of about 20.5 nautical miles from the coastline of the State of Kerala, a unit within the Indian Union. The incident, therefore, occurred not within the territorial waters of the coastline of the State of Kerala, but within the Contiguous Zone." However, Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, the supreme commander of the Italian marines says "our officers did what they had to do to protect the merchant ship. A judge must decide whether what they did corresponds with the law, but we're confident". May be this confidence made the Marines to return to India and avoid diplomatic war between India and Italy. Italy is also facing a kind of political vaccum after a hung verdict in the recent elections. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in his statement in Parliament said the Italian marines will not get death sentence as the Indian fishermen killings case was not a rarest of rare case. He also said they won't be arrested if they return before the apex court's deadline. "The two Italian marines are on their way to India. Notwithstanding pending proceedings, the government has informed the Italian government that the marines will not be liable for arrest if they return within time frame laid down by the Supreme Court," Khurshid said in his statement. Welcoming Italy's decision to send back its marines, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today that their return would be in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court and consistent with the dignity of the judicial process in India. "We are happy with the outcome. I welcome the return of Italian marines," Manmohan Singh told reporters as the marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen headed back to stand trial in India. "The Italian marines are coming back in accordance with the direction of Supreme Court and it is consistent with the dignity of judicial process in India," he said.

NC Cong alliance has ....

Singh, while addressing the protest demonstration said that the decision of the Omar Abdullah led coalition government to suspend BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma from Legislative Assembly for raising voice against anti-national elements and protesting against discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh is an assault on the democratic rights of the people and a challenge to the nationalist forces in the State. He further said that it is not the issue of just suspension but an indicator of the medieval mindset which the Kashmir-centric political parties represent. It is the hidden agenda to appease separatists and silence the voice of nationalists. Under such circumstances, the Chief Minister has lost the moral right to continue in the office and sooner he goes, better it would be for the State. Dr Singh regretted that the august House has become a platform for raising proPakistani slogans and delivering anti-India speeches. He mentioned that in the Assembly Prime Minister of the India was called as Manmohan Singh while as Parliament attack convict was suffixed with the respectable title of "Sahib". It is very unfortunate that the Congress leadership, for the lust of power, has maintained a criminal silence in the Assembly. Reminding the State Chief Minister of historic Amarnath land row agitation of 2008, Dr. Nirmal Singh said that he must take lesson from the past and shed the policy of provoking the nationalist people of the State in general and Jammu province in particular. He declared that the party will continue to agitate till the suspension of Jugal Kishore Sharma is not revoked in a dignified manner. The party activists from Jajjar Kotli, Dansal, Surinsar, Kathar, Kah-Pota, Kanyala, Manwal, Chilla, Ponthal, Kanna Chargal, Bajalta, Pargalta, Kishen Pur, Jagti Nagrota, Chhiba, Marh, Bamyal, Gundla, Shurta, Drabhi Thanda Pani, Kattal Battal, Badgah, and DhoonPadoontook part in the protest demonstration.

200-300 militant weighting....

into India territory He said that information pertaining to the possible infiltration from across the border are constantly received by the army from various intelligence quarters and said that army is ready to prevent such infiltrations. He said that there are 200-300 militants are waiting alone to infiltrate into Jammu region from across the border. He said that army personals deployed all along the LOC are very strong and said that they were fully prepared to counter such threats of infiltration. Mr. Hooda said that army has already submitted its recommendations on demand of withdrawal of AFSPA from J & K to the government and added that it was now up to the government to look into those recommendations before making any decision on it. While commenting on tackling of growing militant attacks in valley, Hooda said that the strategy of army to fight such threats is depend on the intelligence inputs develop from the sources from time to time. He said that the inputs from intelligence agencies was followed by deployment of troops . He said that in case it was feel that there is a militant activity in any area, accordingly additional troops are deployed their. He said that there is an exercise which takes place every year on what is the summer strategy and added that they are quite prepared to deal with any kind of such situation. Earlier Lt. General Hooda in presence of Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Mohammad Saleem Chowdhary, Commander 9 Sector RR Kishtwar Brigadier Hatish Kholi, Commercial Manager Northern Railway Mohammad Yaqoob Ganie and other senior officials of the army inaugurated Railway Ticketing counter at helipad Kishtwar. With the inauguration of Railway Ticketing counter, the army personals along with locals including students will get railway ticketing facility at door step and can book the rail tickets while sitting at home place.

Hizbul terrorist nabbed; ammunition seized in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Friday disclosed that Liyakat Shah, the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, had come to India from Pakistan via Nepal. SN Srivastava, special commissioner of police (training and special cell), told a press conference that Liyakat had come to Nepal on a flight from where he crossed into India through the Sunauli border. Srivastava informed that Liyakat, who was arrested in Gorakhpur on March 20, had planned to carry out terror strikes with the help of new recruits. "We have registered an FIR in the case," the official said. Liyakat disclosed during interrogation that he had instructions to go and meet other Hizbul men in the Jama Masjid area, from where the Delhi Police early this morning recovered a cache of arms and ammunition. As per Srivastava, the occupants of the hotel room from where arms were recovered managed to escape. "We used a decoy and waited for them to come to the hotel. But when they did not return, we got the room opened and carried out search operation. When we saw hand grenades there, we called in the bomb disposal squad," Srivastava said, adding they recovered three hand grenades, 220 grams of high explosive plastic material, one AK-56 rifle, two magazines with 30 cartridges each, one map, a microSD card and dry fruits. Srivastava said Liyakat had instructions from senior Hizbul commanders to meet new recruits and carry out attacks in Delhi. "His handlers had got him made a Pakistani passport. He was asked to destroy the same on arriving in Nepal," the official added.

Sri Lankan Tamils' issue rocks Parliament

NEW DELHI: Both houses of parliament were once again disrupted Friday over the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils, losing the question hour to protests. DMK and AIADMK members trooped into the Well in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha raising slogans against the government for "not making efforts" for a stronger resolution against Sri Lanka over the ethnic Tamils issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday. In the Lok Sabha, some Congress members were also seen waving placards against "police atrocities" against pro-Telangana activists in Andhra Pradesh. Members from Tamil Nadu, barring Congress, were in the well shouting slogans and waving placards which read 'We condemn betrayal of India against Tamils at UNHRC'. Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was seen having a word with Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj to have key legislations like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to replace an Ordinance, passed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill has to be passed today as the Ordinance will lapse on April 4. Parliament will have a four-week recess from tomorrow. As members were unrelenting, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House till noon. In Rajya Sabha, as Chairman Hamid Ansari walked in, AIADMK members led by their leader V Maitreyan rushed to the well and knelt down holding posters of slain LTTE chief Prabhakaran's son, allegedly killed by Sri Lankan army. After a reference by the Chair to World Water Day being observed today, DMK members rushed into the Well raising the issue of India's "failure" to get a stronger resolution passed in the UNHRC. T Siva (DMK) said he has given a notice for suspension of Question Hour and alleged that no attempt was made by India to ensure a stronger censure of Sri Lankan government on alleged war crimes against Tamils in that country. D Raja (CPI) rose to support the Tamil issue and tried to make some point but was hardly audible in the din."No posters please," Mr Ansari told AIADMK members who kept holding the posters silently. He also asked DMK members to go back to their places so that Question Hour can be taken up. But, DMK members started shouting slogans seeking justice for Sri Lankan Tamils. AIADMK members too joined them shortly thereafter. As members did not relent, Mr Ansari adjourned the House till noon.

Security cover....
spent on fuel required for government vehicles used in the security of the separatists, Rs 3, 79, 32,133 was spent on the account of salaries of the residential security guards provided to them during the same period, Omar said.

Nearly 2 crore....
them and the salaries of residential guards. In 2012 the amount mounted to one crore 65 lakh Rs." This was stated by MoS Home Sajad Ahmad Kitcchloo Friday in a written reply to the question forwarded by Engineer Rashid. Engineer Rashid had sought details from Kitchloo about the total expenditure incurred by the Government on the security cover of Hurriyat leaders including the fuel expenses incurred on the vehicles escorting them. Later while talking to media persons outside Assembly Rashid said that if people are not safe at the hands of police, then it was obvious that Hurriyat too is not safe, so they shall relinquish their security and arrange some civilian guards for them and in addition shall also apply for licensed weapons. "I don't think that Hurriyat needs security, they are representing people. If every individual in Kashmir is for their protection then for what purposes they need security?" he questioned adding that security cover is just a VIP trend in Kashmir and nothing else. "When someone carries attack on somebody, he does it irrespective of security cover. No security cover stops him. This is the reason why I have not taken security," he said. Meanwhile Mir Saifullah said that Hurriyat is anti national, so they have no right to claim security. "We are not bound to provide security cover to these separatist leaders" he said.

Paramilitary forces be....

"immediately withdraw this order and allow the security forces to tackle the terrorists the way they used to do in the past". In the absence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is in New Delhi for the past two days, Minister of State for Home Sajjad Kichloo replied that this order was only for those security force personnel deployed for law and order duty and "that cannot be done away with". "There was no provision of disapproving the use of firearms against terrorists," Kichloo said. "When they don't have arms, how are they going to reply to bullets of terrorists," asked Sharma as he, along with party members, staged a walkout from the house in protest.

Discrimination with ...

ullah Khan in Rajasthan could become Chief Minister having a population of only seven percent Muslims why a Hindu cannot become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir with forty percent Hindu population. Jammuites remember with gratitude that it was only during the tenure of Ghulam Nabi Azad that they saw some activity on the development front in their region. To some it may sound erroneous or to some communal but the matter of fact is that minorities in the State are not been given their due. Otherwise how come a comprehensive plan for the rehabilitation of exiled Pandits is not been formulated. They are the aborigines of Kashmir who have first right on it but who will listen to them when Parliament mastermind Afzal Guru is being made the most vital plank of political, social and cultural conversation in the hapless State. The alarm bells have started ringing as the discontent is simmering within the political class and many Ministers from Jammu are becoming increasingly frustrated over the way whole idea of governance is rendered ineffective due to dubious issues central only to Kashmir and its murky politics. It is here that all nationalist forces have to close ranks and the onus is on the Jammu

Rs. 160 cr Magnesite ....

by Chief Secretary has been constituted for clearance of projects costing Rs. 5 crore and above for the convenience of entrepreneurs, adding that technical monitoring in Industries Centers has also been brought under more focus. Responding to the points raised by the members, the Minister said that revival of sick industries has also been taken up due to which 457 identified sick units in the State have been revived with assistance of about Rs. 3.70 crore so far. Kichloo said that 19 new industrial estates are being developed in the State including 9 in Jammu and 10 in Kashmir division's raising the total number of industrial estates in the State to 67. He said 2061

Shalindra Kumar ....

besides achieving of tangible targets

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

STATE

J&K govt disengages 141 SPOs in Udhampur

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir government has disengaged more than 100 Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Udhampur district of the state. In a written reply to the question of JKNPP MLA Yashpal Kundal in the Assembly Friday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that 141 SPOs were dis-engaged during the last one year in the district. The reason for their disengagement included unauthorised absence, involvement in cases and their non-joining, besides selection of some in Police and other departments, he said. He further said that 1,852 SPOs have been regularised in Jammu and Kashmir Police as Constables and Followers under comprehensive policy of 2009. A proposal for enhancement of honorarium in respect of SPOs from existing Rs 3,000 per month to Rs 5,000 per month has been recommended to Ministry of Home Affairs, Omar said adding, that the matter is being vigorously pursued with the Government of India.

NEWS IN BOX

State level Committee headed by CS approves Rs 10 cr MsDP proposal for Leh

JAMMU, MARCH 22: The State level Committee headed by Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday Friday took stock of the Multi-Sectoral Development Plan (MsDP) for Leh district. The Government of India during the 11th Five Year Plan had launched the programme to plug the development deficit of identified minority concentration districts in the country, thereby improving their socio-economic parameters and basic amenities in line with priority attached to the policy of inclusive growth. The MsDP was launched in Leh district from year-2009-10 and is implemented by line departments of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh. The Committee approved the additional plan proposals to the tune of Rs 10 crore under the programme for the year 2012-13 during 12th Five Year Plan. The plan envisages construction of 60 ICDS units at an estimated cost of Rs 3.9 crore for Leh, Khaltsi, Nobra, Nyoma, Kharu and Durbuk blocks. It also proposes construction of class rooms and residential hostels in far-flung areas of Leh including Hanlay, Chumathang, Sumoor, Saspol, Tangste etc at an estimated cost of Rs 3.93 crore. The plan also envisages Rs 0.4 crore for improving health, Rs 1.31 crore for PHE and Rs 0.45 for development of rural electrification infrastructure. The Chief Secretary while laying emphasis on following all aspects of the programme underlined the need for dovetailing resources to ensure envisaged outcomes and accelerated growth and social-economic development of these identified far-flung areas. The approved Plan proposal will be submitted to the Ministry of Minority Affairs GOI for release of funds. Earlier, Deputy Commissioner, Leh T. Anchok briefed the committee about the MsDP-Action Plan implemented during the 11th Five Year Plan period. He said that Rs 12.25 crore have been expended on completion of various projects out of the total estimated cost of Rs 16.26 crore. Under the ICDS sector Rs 1.67 crore has been incurred on completion of 35 Anganwari centres out of the 40 taken up. Under the PHE sector Rs 2.20 crore has been incurred on 6 water supply schemes in slipped back habitats and out of these 3 have been already completed and remaining 3 are near completion. He said that 50 hand pumps out of the 60 have been installed at a cost of Rs 1.08 crore. He said Rs 1.5 crore have been expended for installation of solar submersible pumps in 4 habitations, 4 residential schools and 8 health institutions. To improve the education sector, Rs 5 crore have been spent on infrastructure development in residential schools and hostels including construction of Solar ACRs, Dormitories, Dinning and recreation halls, kitchens etc , he informed adding that the ground floor of the Industrial and Training Institute Leh has been completed at a cost of Rs 78.62 lakh under the programme. He said remaining work on the ITI and upgradation work on Polytechnic College Leh will be completed this fiscal.

Power shut down on Mar 23 & 24

JAMMU, MARCH 22- In order to carry out the stringing of ACSR conductor of G-7 line, allied maintenance work of 33 KV G- 7 feeder (Bathindi tap line), the power supply to Bathindi, Sunjwan and adjoining areas shall remain affected on March 23, 2013 from 8 a m to 1 p m. Meanwhile in order to carry out the work of 33 KV tap line for upcoming (1x10) MVA Receiving Station Ashok Nagar, the power supply to Part of Shastri Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Sanjay Nagar and it adjoining areas fed from 1x10 MVA, 33/11 KV R/Stn Shastri Nagar shall remain affected on March 24, 2013 from 9 a m to 2 p m.

Mir inaugurates agriculture machinery mela-cum- awareness camp

SAMBA, MARCH 22: Agriculture Minister, Ghulam Hassan Mir, today inaugurated agriculture machinery mela-cum-awareness camp at Vijaypur. Speaking on the occasion, Mir said that agriculture activities play an important role in the up-lift of farming community and it is the mainstay of State's economy. There is dire need to omediamally exploit the tremendous potential in agriculture and allied sectors in the State. He stressed upon mechanization and diversification in farming to make farming a profitable business. The Minister said that adequate promotion needs to be given to different schemes launched in rural development, agriculture and employment sectors so that those living in rural areas are made aware of the benefits. He called for a change in the mindset of the unemployed youth towards entrepreneurship and asked them to become job providers instead of job seekers. He said that such exhibitions besides encouraging the youth for setting up their income generating units help in developing cordial relationship between

Women panchayat members to join hunger strike

JAMMU: To mount pressure on the state government for the security and empowerment of panchayats, women panches and sarpanches today announced to join the hunger strike of All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) on March 24. Women panchayat members, including sarpanches and panches, from Jammu region will gather outside the Press Club here on Sunday to join the hunger strike of AJKPC, Sarpanch Bimla Devi and Deputy Sarpanch Sunita Sharma told reporters. They blamed the state government of deceiving 33,000 panchayat members, which left them with no other omediaon that to sit on hunger strike. Expressing concern over the safety and security of the panchayat leaders after the recent militant attacks, they appealed the state government to intervene and take the required steps in this regard. The state government will have to face the consequences if the attacks on panchayat members did not stop, the panchayat leaders said. Slamming the state unit of Congress, the women panchayat leaders said the party has deceived them and deviated from its stand and promise made in its manifesto. The honorarium announced by the state government was "meager", but if was a victory for AJKPC leaders who fought for the issue and forced the government to take the step, they said. Demanding full implementation of 73rd amendment of Indian constitution in the state, Sunita Sharma said that now they have decided to teach the parties a lesson in the 2014 assembly elections.

State Information Commission releases logo

JAMMU, MARCH 22: The Jammu and Kashmir State Information Commission, today formally released its logo at a media meet which was chaired by State Chief Information Commissioner G. R. Sufi. Dr. S. K. Sharma, State Information Commissioner was also present on the occasion. The expert committee, constituted for selecting a suitable logo for the Commission selected the logo of Chander Sheker, a prominent artist and cartoonist from Jammu and Kashmir, who was also given a cash prize of Rs. 30,000. The Committee invited entries from within and outside the State and shortlisted six entries.

Agriculture Minister, Ghulam Hassan Mir viewing a stall during agriculture machinery mela-cumawareness camp at Vijaypur. the department and the local people. Mir said Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) play a pivotal role in making people aware of various welfare programmes and development initiatives launched by the government for all round development in the society. He said that different central and state Government schemes have been launched in the state for welfare of the people and now such camps need to be organized on regular basis to make people aware of these initiatives. He enjoined upon the officers and field agencies of the concerned department to ensure timely availability of quality seeds and fertilizers alongwith adequate irrigation facility for increasing agriculture productivity and production. DDC, Samba, Mubarak Singh, also spoke on the occasion and applauded the efforts of the agriculture department for organizing such Kissan melas which greatly help the farming community to know schemes and level of subsidy available with the departments. Director Agriculture, Ajay Khujaria highlighted the activities and achievements of the department with special reference to Samba district. All the district offices of Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture and allied sectors installed their stalls in the mela displaying the latest technologies, agriculture implements, farm machinery and technical knowhow, available with various agriculture related departments. Sarpanches, Panches and large number of farmers were present on the occasion.

Shabir Reviews functioning of SHTO

JAMMU, MARCH 22- Minister of State for Health Shabir Ahmed Khan convened a meeting to review the functioning of the State Health Transport organization here today. Commissioner Secretary Health & Medical Education M. K. Dwivedi, Secretary Transport Department Mr Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo Director Health Jammu Madhu Khullar, and senior officers of the concerned departments attended the meeting. The Minister was apprised with the steps taken for improving the functioning of SHTO and other issues pertaining to availability of ambulances, registration of new ambulances and action taken for disposal of condemnable vehicles. The Minister stressed on interdepartmental coordination for streamlining the process of registration of the ambulances and ensure that health services are not affected .He also directed the concerned departments to adopt standard procedures in purchase of new ambulances in consultation with the experts of National Ambulance Code and ensure quality pre-inter-hospital transfer of patients.

Sadhotra, Kundal, Bakaya table copy of DRSC reports in LC

JAMMU, MARCH 22- Chairmen, Departmental Related Standing Committee-I and III, B R Kundal and Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today laid on the table copies of the reports of the Departmental Related Standing Committee for the year 2011-12 in the Legislative Council today. Vijay Bakaya, on behalf of Syed Asgar Ali, Chairman, Departmental Related Standing Committee -II laid on the table a copy of the report of the Committee-II for the year 2011-12 in the House.

Affixing of HSRP mandatory for all types of vehicles

SRINAGAR, MARCH 22: According to Regional Transport Officer, Kashmir, all contract carriage, taxi and maxi cab operators are informed to approach the respective Regional Transport Officer and Assistant Regional Transport Officers for affixing of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) as it is mandatory for all types of vehicles under Central Motor Vehicles Act, besides Supreme Court orders. For affixing of HSRP on all types of vehicle, all vehicle owners including private as well as commercial are asked to implement the directions at an earliest failing which action will be taken against the defaulters.

J&K suited for dairy activities: Gurezi

JAMMU, MARCH 22Minister of State for Animal & Sheep Husbandry, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi has said that Jammu and Kashmir is ideally suited for dairy activities, adding that State has registered a steady growth in milk production over the past couple of years. The milk production during the year 2009-10 which was 15.92 lakhs metric tons and efforts are afoot to achieve over 20.00 lac metric tons during the current fiscal, he said. Replying to the discussion on demand of Grants for the Department under his charge, the Minister said that the Government will set up 71 Mobile Veterinary Centres across the State and also 214 posts stand sanctioned at various categories to strengthen this sector. He said the mobile ambulatory vehicles fitted with Geographical Positioning System (GPS) to rationalize and monitor the services to be delivered by the mobile centers will also be pressed into service which is expected to cost over Rs. 7 crore. The Minister said that the Department is examining a proposal to invite credible NGOs / private players to take up the genetic upgradation and providing of other veterinary services in remote and far flung areas like Gurez, Karna, Tangdar, Kargil, Leh, and Doda, Kishtwar upper reaches of Reasi, Pooch and Rajouri etc. He said the Department envisages establishing 500 such centres in the 12th Five Year Plan out of which 254 centres shall be taken up during 2013-14. The Minister said that feed and quality Fodder availability is not as per the standard animal husbandry norms, making true realization of the genetic worth of our livestock difficult. The State produces around 64 lakh MTs of green fodder and 35 lakhs MTs of Dry fodder. However the requirement of Green is 139.13 lakh MTs and Dry is 58.53 lakh MTs. Gurezi said that 77 projects have been taken up under RIDF XVI (2010-11) and RIDF XVII (2011-12), for which the department has availed a loan of Rs. 1967.74 lacs (Rs. 378.61 in 2010-11, Rs. 761.13 in 2011-12 and Rs. 828.00 lac in 2012-13) from NABARD under RIDF, to construct veterinary institutions (hospitals/centres) which will improve the work culture and quality of veterinary services at the grass root level. The Minister said a Centrally Sponsored Scheme "National Animal Disease Reporting System" (NADRS) has been launched which envisages linking of blocks with districts, with divisions and state with central monitoring unit for prompt reporting/ feedback. So far, 158 NODS have been established out of which broad band connectivity has been provided to 84 by the end of February 2013. The scheme has been launched recently the State is an important constituent of the National Informatics System reporting disease profile and developmental activities as well. He said during 2013-14, all 158 NODS will be made functional to ensure online disease reporting. Besides, he said, 85 NODS are proposed to be provided during 2013-14 to provide exclusive connectivity to the Sheep Husbandry Department, particularly in the farms in far of areas. Gurezi said that 77 projects have been taken up under RIDF XVI (2010-11) and RIDF XVII (2011-12), for which the Department has availed a loan of Rs. 19.67 crore from NABARD to construct veterinary institutions (hospitals/centres) which will improve the work culture and quality of veterinary services at the grass root level.

Govt to consider opening of new BOSE branches at Hiranagar, Bani: Feroz

JAMMU, MARCH 22- Minister of State for Education, Feroz Ahmad Khan while replying to a Calling Attention Notice by Subash Chander Gupta informed the House that the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has established its Sub- Offices at all the District Headquarters including District Headquarter Kathua together with two branch offices at Billawar and Basohli in the said district. Minister said that the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education will consider opening of new branch offices of Board at various places after considering the viability, resources of the Board and distance from the existing branch offices, adding that opening of branch offices at Hiranagar and Bani will be examined when Government considers to open new branches in the State.

Begging Act already in place in the State: Sadhotra

JAMMU, MARCH 22Minister for Planning and Development, Ajay Kamar Sadhotra while replying, on behalf of Home Minister, to a Calling Attention Notice by B. R. Kundal admitted that the menace of begging is a source of nuisance causing tremendous annoyance and inconvenience to the people whether in a busy market, tourist place, roadside, railway station, bus stop or entrance to any institute or a business establishment or a religious place. The Minister said that the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Beggary Act (JKPBA) has been enacted in the year 1960. He said Section 3 of the Act provides that if any person is found begging within an area to which this Act applies, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act, adding that section 4 of the Act provides for arrest of any person without a warrant who is found begging. Sub-section 4 of Section 5 of the Act provides that if a person is declared as a beggar by a Court, it shall order his detention in a Sick Home, Children's Home or a Beggars Home as the case may be for a period not less than one year and not more than three years in the case of first offence., he added. Sadhotra said when a person is convicted for the second time; the Court shall order him to be detained in a Sick Home, Beggars Home or Children's Home, as the case may be for not less than seven years. He said the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Beggars Rules, 1964 have also been notified in 1965. He said due to prevailing situation in the State for the past two decades, the infrastructure in the shape of Sick Homes, Beggar Homes and Children Homes etc could not be set up on account of which enforcement of the Act has not been possible in letter and spirit. The Minister said that some steps have been taken including clearing the roadsides, footpaths particularly in areas of tourists' importance and the field officers have been directed to ensure police presence in areas of their jurisdiction to prevent the beggars from causing nuisance to the public.

Fish production touches 21 lakh Kgs in Bandipora

BANDIPORA, DECEMBER 22: The Additional District Development Commissioner, Bandipora, G.M. Brakoo today flagged off 35 fishermen for exposure tour to various government and private Fish Farms of Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Baramulla and other districts under Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA). Assistant Director Fisheries Bandipora, fishermen besides other people were present on this occasion. It was given out that 21 lakh Kgs of fish production has been recorded in district Bandipora during this fiscal, as a result the fishermen earned a revenue of about Rs. 33.40 crore. The department also earned Rs. 4 lakh by selling 1947 Kgs of trout and carp fish. As many as 571 fishermen were provided nylon twine worth Rs. 2.85 lakh free of cost. Fishing license was issued to 1926 fishermen of the district whileas 11 lakh different kinds of fish seed was stocked in Wullar Lake, River Jehlum, Sumbal Sars, Madhumati Nallah and Arin Nallah in the district.

47 industrial Estates comprising 37143 units in the State: Kichloo

JAMMU, MARCH 22: Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo today informed the House that 47 industrial estates have been establish in Jammu and Kashmir comprising 37143 industrial units. Replying to a question by Mrs. Indu Pawar in the House today the Minister said of these industrial units, 24245 units are functional while as 264 units are sick units. He said the Department has taken many steps to check the failure of industrial units in the State. He said the steps includes incentives as per the industrial policy, marketing support, creation of skill councils, facilitation council for settlement of delayed payments and regular reviews at State Level Banker Committee meetings. Harshdev Singh raised supplementary question

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

STATE

DDC inaugurates employment fair at Rajouri

RAJOURI, MARCH 22-In order to disseminate information to the public in general and especially the unemployed educated youths of Rajouri District particularly of Sunderbani Block a "two day Employment Fair" was organised by District Employment and Counselling Centre Rajouri at Army Ground Sunderbani. The fair was inaugurated by District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, Saugat Biswas who was chief guest on the occasion. R.K. Khajuria, SDM Nowshera, M.A. Mirza, Dy. Director Employment and Counselling Centre Rajouri and all the District and Block officers, besides a large number of Sarpanches, Panches and unemployed youths were present on the occasion. All the state Govt. Departments, Financial Institutions, Banks dealing with the implementation of Self Employment, Employment Generating Schemes in the District participated in the Fair and through the medium of pamphlets, broachers and success stories disseminated information to the unemployed youths. About 25 departments put their stalls at the venue for providing information about their departmental schemes to the unemployed youths. The resource persons from all the key departments remained available in their respective stalls for providing necessary information and guidance to the unemployed youths. Speaking on the occasion, the DDC appreciated the role of District Employment and Counselling Centre Rajouri for organising such an employment fair at Sunderbani to provide information about self employment schemes being implemented by the different departments. He also threw light on the importance of SKEWPY (Shere-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for the youth) and asked the unemployed to take maximum benefit of the self employment schemes. He stressed upon the youths to come forward and start their new ventures, and employed themselves besides providing employment to others. He asked the public in general and the unemployed youths of Block Sunderbani to participate in large number during the days of Fair to gain maximum benefit of the fair Dy. Director Employment and Counselling Centre Rajouri, M.A. Mirza highlighted the achievements made by the District Employment and Counselling Centre Rajouri and explained in detail the objective of organising employment fair SKEWPY and other self employment schemes being implemented by various departments. A large number of unemployed youths besides general public attended the employment fair.

Speed up inquiry against health employees: CPI(M)

JAMMU: The CPI(M) unit of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday asked the state Health department to timely conclude the inquiry against those departmental employees, who face charges of resorting to unfair means to seek employment. "We express concern over the plight of health department employees especially Safai Karamcharis (sweepers) whose salaries have been withheld for the last eight months in connection with an ongoing departmental enquiry," CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said. He said the snail pace with which the inquiry is going has not only affected the functioning of the department but also the families dependent on the employees under the scanner of the inquiry committee. "First of all it makes no sense that the government wakes up after a deep slumber of some 20 years when these employees joined the department," he added. In most of the cases, the sweepers are without their salaries for the last eight months, Tarigami said. The CPI(M) leader said he is not against the inquiry but the pace, with which it is going on, indicates that it is heading nowhere. He urged the government to release the pending salaries of the affected employees.

DC convenes Citizen meeting

RAMBAN, MARCH 22- To take stock of problems being faced by the public of district Ramban the Deputy Commissioner, Sham Vinod Meena convened a meeting with prominent citizens, representatives of different political parties, social and religious organizations, and trade associations at conference hall here today. DC while speaking on the occasion said that people of Ramban are peace loving and would never give a chance to vested interests to shatter the peace full social fabric in the district Meena said that timely feedback submitted by people on the matters of public welfare would go a long way in redressing the public grievances and promotion of peace, security and harmony in the entire district. For the purpose, he asked the members to interact with the people in their respective areas to know their basic problems for meaningful solution. Prominent citizens apprised the DC of the demands and problems to which Meena said that the administration is abreast with problems being faced by people of the district. He assured the citizens and asked every grievance is being taken to address the same within the shortest possible time. It was the duty of the people to remain extra vigilant and keep a close eye on antisocial elements in the district and bring the matter, if any, into the notice of district administration to initiate suitable punitive action, Meena emphasized. The citizens assured the administration for extending their full support in all developmental activity besides maintaining secular ethos and peace in the district. Additional Deputy commissioner, Bashir Ahmed khan, Assistant Director Planning, prominent citizens included Om Prakash Sharma, Advocate M. Mustaq, Umar Nazami, VishvaBandhu Sharma, Rashid Wani, Amrit Barsha, Retd. SSP Mohd. Bhat and Gopal Krishan Raina etc. sarpanches, trade and business associations, social and religious organizations participated in the meeting.

No discrimination in funds release, sanctioning of posts: Lone

JAMMU, MARCH 22Minister for Higher Education, Mohammad Akbar Lone today clarified in the House that there has been no discrimination against any region in either release of funds or sanctioning of posts in the Department. Making a statement in the House today, the Minister said that the Government is committed to carry out the construction of colleges as per the programme already sanctioned, by partial funding from Central Government and rest from the State plan. However, there are issues of land acquisition, tendering and court cases due to which works at some places could not be started. The Department is taking all steps to resolve all these issues and funds for all the colleges shall be released based on the requirement commensurate with construction pace. The Minister said that since there was an allocation available in the plan and since CE R&B Jammu had not been able to finalize the cost through e-tendering this coupled with land acquisition issues at a number of locations, had held up the construction of college buildings at many places. Therefore, even though in the current years plan, the allocation for construction of college buildings has been made for all the colleges, the releases would be in proportion to the pace of physical progress only as otherwise funds would lapse. Again there is no instance of any particular college being released funds over and above the approved cost, he added. Lone clarified that as against 48541 enrolments' of students in Jammu division, 78575 students enrolled in Kashmir division. He said there are 778 teachers available in Jammu as against 634 teachers available in Kashmir division. He said the teacher to student ratio in Jammu division is 1:52 while as for Kashmir division it is 1:123. The Minister said 50 posts were sanctioned for PG courses in Jammu division as against 37 in Kashmir division. But, he said this was not out of discrimination but out of requirement and strictly as per the number of courses which had been introduced at different times.

GOAM should visit centre to get TS for Chopans: Tarigami

JAMMU, MARCH 22: The State Secretary CPI (M) and Member Legislative Assembly Kulgam, M. Y. Tarigami today made a suggestion in the Legislative Assembly to send a selected Group of Assembly Members (GOAM) to Centre so that it is persuaded to grant Tribal Status (TS) to Chopan Community. Speaking on the demand of grants for Sheep and Animal Husbandry departments in the Legislative Assembly today, Tarigami said that a resolution to grant Tribal Status to Chopan community was passed in the state Legislative Assembly 2010 but the Centre has not taken any cognizance to this so far. He said granting Tribal Status to Chopan Community is a long pending demand which is genuine. Tarigami said that contribution of Sheep and Animal departments to the state's economy was significant adding that both the sectors have vast potential to grow in view of the most favourable geo-topographical conditions of the Jammu and Kashmir State. He said that there is great demand for mutton and milk, for which the state is largely dependent on the import of these products, which was a great question mark for the planners and scientists. He called for maximum exploitation of the great and extensive economic and employment potential in these sectors. Tarigami also stressed for pragmatic welfare measures for sheep breeders, Gujjar and Bakerwal communities and urged for eliminating exploitation of middlemen in their activities.

Rs.11 lakh incurred annually as salaries for Kalakote thermal plant employees: Vikar
JAMMU, MARCH 22: In concurrence to the Cabinet decision on Kalakote Thermal Plant, which was under shut down from 1987, was decided to be closed due to non-availability of coal of requisite quantity and quality. The cost of machinery and other equipment has not been evaluated recently. This was stated by the Minister of State for Power, Vikar Rasool while replying to a question by Ravinder Kumar Sharma in Legislative Council today. The Minister said Rs. 11 lakh are being incurred annually on salaries/wages of staff deployed for watch and ward of the assets of this plant, adding "that no expenditure is being incurred on its operation and maintenance. The Minister said there are no plans to revive this plant as the coal deposits of Kalakote are not of acceptable quality. The plant therefore does not have any coal linkage. Vikar further said that the matter regarding allotment of work related to the 132/33 KV Grid Station Siot is subjudice in the High Court. Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri and Ajat Shatru Singh asked the supplementary on this question. In reply to another question by Jehangir Hussain Mir, the Minister informed the House that 11897 visitors have been provided accommodation during 2011-13 (up to 19.2.2013) in JK Houses of New Delhi, Amritsar and Chandigarh. Vikar further said that185 persons belonging to far-flung areas of Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara, etc. have been accommodated in JK House Delhi and Chandigarh during the last five years. The Minister said 10236 numbers of visitors have been provided accommodation at Delhi from 2011. Ravinder Kumar Sharma, Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri, Syed Rafiq Shah, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Khalid Najeeb Suhrawardi, Naresh Kumar Gupta, Dr. Shahnaz Ganai and Sheikh Ghulam Rasool raised the supplementaries. In another question by Sham Lal Bhagat, the Minister informed the House that JKSPDC has released Rs. 12,537 crore to JKPCC on their requisition against an estimated cost of Rs. 29.95 crore for the construction of the Ganpat bridge on river Chenab in Doda district. He further said ,however, the work has been held up since 22.10.2010. Vikar said the Government has constituted a high level Committee headed by Chief Secretary for making the project viable or suggesting an alternative for resummediaon of construction of the bridge. The work on Ganpat bridge shall be resumed after the final decision of the Committee, he added. Vikar further said that JKSPDC has taken up the execution of Trungal bridge at an estimated cost of Rs. 15.36 crore against which expenditure of Rs. 6.95 crore has already been incurred so far, adding that the work is in advanced stage of completion.

DCC/DLRC meeting convened at Reasi

REASI MARCH 22 - A meeting of District Level Review Committee (DLRC)/ District Consultative Committee (DCC) for quarter ending December 31 of Reasi District was held under chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner R S Tara on Friday. The meeting was organised to review the performance of banks with regard to achievement under Annual Credit Plan 2012-13 of Reasi District and also to review the position of deposits/advances, Kissan Credit Card and Credit flow to various sectors. Lead District Manager (LDM) RL Lochan informed that in the deposits of Reasi advance to banking sector is 54 per cent of total credit and achievement under ACP 2012-13 quarter ending December 2012. He said while advance is not good, a lot needs to be done in agriculture sector. R S Tara exhorted the bankers/sponsors to clear all the pending cases of government sponsored schemes within this financial year in order to register 100 per cent achievement.

Rajiv Awas Yojana launched in J&K: Jora

JAMMU: Minister for Urban local bodies and Urban Development, Nawang Rigzin Jora today said that a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Rajiv Awas Yojana has been introduced in the State for the development and welfare of people living in the slum areas of the State. Replying to a question by Bharat Bushan in the House, the Minister said the survey is underway for identify the potential beneficiaries under this scheme. He said in the first phase, Srinagar, Baramulla and Anatnag in Kashmir province and Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur in Jammu province would be taken up for execution of the scheme. The Minister said that total population of slum areas in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar is 2.07 lakh souls out of which 199557 belong to Srinagar city and 7997 slum dwellers are in Jammu city. He said under the IHSDP Rs. 35crore were spent for the betterment of housing needs of the people of these areas.

Manohar pays obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine

JAMMU, MARCH 22- Minister of State (Ind Charge) for Fisheries, Cooperative, Printing Election and Stationary, Manohar Lal Sharma, today visited Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Katra in Reasi district and paid obeisance at the holy shrine along with family members. He prayed for the peace and prosperity of the state. While interacting with the devotees, the Minister enquired them about the facilities there and appealed them to be messengers of peace for the State. He said the number of pilgrims to the shrine is increasing day by day and is expected to touch new heights in the coming year.

Work on Bishnah Vegetable mandi to complete by Sept: Bhalla

JAMMU, MARCH 22- Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla today said that the fruit and vegetable (F&V) markets coming up at Rs. 2.22 crore over an area of 20 kanal 6 marla land at Bishnah would be completed with all infrastructural facilities within six months. The Minister was addressing a large gathering of fruit and vegetable marketers at an awareness camp organized by Horticulture (Planning and Marketing) department, here today. Member Legislative Assembly Bishnah Ashwani Sharma, Director Horticulture (Planning and Marketing) A R Natnoo, Managing Director, J&K HPMC Syed Rafiq Ahmed Furahi, besides other senior officers of the department were present on the occasion. Bhalla called upon the executing agency to complete all the allied works of the project within six months so that the place meet the desired purpose at the earliest. He said Government has planned to set up fruit and vegetable mandies at all potential areas of the State so that the farmers could get marketing facilities at their doorsteps. The Minister said the Government has also approved Rs. 4.78 crore for face lifting of Phase-I and Phase-II mandies at Narwal. He said the places would be developed with modern line basic amenities like improved power, safe drinking water, better roads, besides toilet blocks. He said Government has also earmarked Rs. 70 lakh for construction of auction platform in vegetable mandi, adding that the project is nearing completion and would be dedicated to the traders shortly. Bhalla asked the officers to motivate the growers and traders to ensure that quality fruit and vegetable were brought to the market, adding that in this era of competition the quality control is must and "We have to focus on this vital area to maintain the credibility of State's horticulture produce". He asked to gear up field functionaries for educating the fruit and vegetable growers about the horticulture sponsored schemes. Bhalla stressed for exploring new markets to promote State's horticulture products. He said horticulture was the mainstay of the state's economy and all out efforts will be made to promote this vital sector appropriately across the country.

Kabir Jayanti Celebrations

Kundal dedicates community hall to public

KATHUA, MARCH 22- Satguru Kabir Sabha, Vijaypur celebrated parkash utsav of great saint and social reformer Bhagat Kabir at village Swankha. MLC, B. R. Kundal who was chief guest on the occasion inaugurated and dedicated to the public a community hall near the Kabir temple. Ex-Minister, Manjit Singh also attended the function. Paying rich tributes to Kabir Ji, Kundal urged people to follow the path shown by the great saint and make their contribution to further the cause of creating an equal society, adding that Guru Ji stood for justice, equality and peace. He said saints always preached love, equality and brotherhood and people can make their lives meaningful by emulating him. Prominent among those who participated and spoke on the occasion include Sr. Vice President of Sabha, G. R. Bhagat, K. L. Bhagat, Prof. Ashok Kumar Bhagat, Yash Paul Bhagat and Tirath Ram Bhagat. The devotees were blessed with a spiritual ceremony by the prominent preachers of Jullandhar.

Bankers performance reviewed

UDHAMPUR, MARCH 22To review the performance of all banks in key area of deposits and advance for the quarter ending December 2012 under Annual credit Plan 2012-13, the District Level Review Committee cum District Consultative Committee (DLRC/DCC) meeting of bankers and district officers of various Government Departments of district Udhampur was held under the Chairmanship of District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Mrs. Yasha Mudgal here today. Joint Director Planning, Rakesh Jamwal, District Lead Bank Manager, SBI, Satish Mahajan, Manager RBI Jammu, Mrs. Suchitra Battacharya, Project Officer DRDA, Udhampur Bankers, representatives of NGOs and officers of line departments also attended the meeting. In the meeting, detailed review was held on various points which mainly include promotion of Self Help Groups (SHGs), performance of different banks under various government sponsored schemes, bank wise position of deposits and advances in Udhampur district, ground level credit flow under District Credit Plan and position of Kissan Credit Cards (KCCs) and SHGs issued by various banks. Stressing the greater need for generating awareness about different poverty alleviation schemes of the government, the DDC exhorted upon the bankers and sectoral officers of different departments to hold joint awareness camps in different locations of the district so that poor masses could reap the benefits of these schemes for their economic betterment. She instructed the officers of line departments and bankers to make better coordination to dispose off the sponsored cases as early as possible. She exhorted upon the Block Level Officers to create maximum awareness among the rural unemployed youth regarding Rural Self Employment progromme in order to generate their own income generating units. During the meeting, the Lead District Manager, Udhampur revealed that various banks have advanced Rs. 106.45 crores amongst the 11575 beneficiaries in the district against a yearly target of Rs.190.98 crores under priority sectors advances up to ended December 2012, out of which banks had disbursed 26.06 crores under Agriculture Sector, Rs.47.88 Crore under MSME Sectorand Rs. 32.51 crores under priority sector advances. Further, the banks had also lended Rs. 50.63 crores under non priority sector advances during the third quarter of the current financial year. The Annual Creditt Plan 2013-14 prepared by LDM, Udhampur has been approved to the tune of Rs. 276.29 Crores which shows an increase of nearly 45 percent over and above the targets of previous Annual Credit Plan. In addition to this, an amount of Rs. 35.72 Crore have been earmarked for financing under Non Priority Sector advances to cover 2142 beneficiaries.

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

EDITORIAL

Specialty Medicare needs freedom from political interference

ne of the components of a welfare State is the degree of affordable specialty Medicare available to the people. Jammu and Kashmir was fortunate enough to have a good Medicare available. It was due to the efforts of great Dogra ruler Maharaja Ranbir Singh that European and Indian system of medicine were both given due importance. The new advances in medical science were put to good use when hospitals were set up first in Srinagar and then in Jammu. Not long back the dream of one of the tallest leaders Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was realized in the shape of Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura which later was named after him as SKIMS. It was his pet project and he ensured that the specialty hospital was governed by eminent doctors and administrators in the field of medicine. He appointed Dr. Nagpal, one of the most eminent medical administrators as head of the SKIMS. He made the institute as an efficient working hospital but as time passed he was disillusioned with the politics that had cropped in the hospital. After him the hospital was run on the whims of two doctors Guru and Khuru one of whom later turned out to be a big protagonist of separatism and was eventually killed by militants. These events need to be seen in a broader vision. Two super specialty hospitals are coming up in Jammu and Kashmir one each at Srinagar and Jammu under centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Sureksha Pariyojna PMSSY). The Jammu super specialty hospital has not started functioning in view of the non availability of suitable faculty and the interesting fact is that the medical colleges of the State may lose recognition if strength of their faculty is not enhanced as per the norms of Medical Council of India. The moot point is that we create very good infrastructure but are not able to realize its potential due to lack of perspective planning. If the government wants that our super specialty hospitals function as well oiled institutions free from any external interference then the government should constitute a governing board headed by a good administrator as Shiekh Abdullah did and give him freedom to select the best faculty. Here regional or other calculations do not matter. A super specialty hospital means top of the line and there should be no compromise in running such hospitals. Otherwise we have made a fine building with good lawns but with nothing inside to pride upon.

Myopic view of Sri Lanka won't help anyone

By M.R. Narayan Swamy fter being silent on an issue of global importance for years, Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke the bitter truth on Sri Lanka the other day. But she spoke, sadly, only half the truth. Addressing her party MPs in New Delhi March 19, Gandhi accused Colombo of denying 'legitimate political rights' to its Tamil minority. And then she used language not heard from an Indian leader in a long time: 'We are anguished by reports of unspeakable atrocities on innocent civilians and children, especially during the last days of the conflict in 2009.' It may be that she was forced to say what she did due to domestic political compulsions; but her comments betrayed a truth that the Sri Lankan state, having crushed the LTTE, is increasingly uncomfort-

able with. Even those who initially thought that the charges against the Sri Lankan military were exaggerated have come to terms with the reality of what happened when the Tamil Tigers went down in a region crawling with helpless Tamil civilians. Yet, knowingly or unknowingly, Gandhi spoke only a part of what happened in the first half of 2009 in Sri Lanka's north. The military blitzkrieg would never have been able to target so many civilians if the LTTE had not forced a mass of helpless Tamil civilians to stay put in the conflict zone in the hope that their presence as a human shield would slow down the escalating war. Indeed, the Lok Sabha election of April-May 2009 played an unwitting role in the slaughter that took place in Sri Lanka. Wary that a pos-

sible Congress rout would lead to a new regime in New Delhi that would pressure Colombo to go slow, the Sri Lankan military was determined to vanquish the LTTE at the earliest - come what may. At the same time, thanks to foolish advice from at least one Tamil Nadu politician that the Congress was on its way out, LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran dragged on a futile war, eventually losing everything he had and leaving the Tamil community in the lurch. It is significant that his death took place around the very days a new Congress-led government took office in New Delhi. The DMK was then - we know from the Niira Radia tapes -- angling for plum cabinet posts instead of shedding tears for Prabhakaran. Equally important, the Sri Lankan war did not ignite passions in Tamil Nadu during the 2009 par-

liamentary elections. Neither the DMK nor the AIADMK made an issue of the brutal war. The one politician who did, and vocally, Vaiko, lost badly. So much for 'Tamil sentiments'! Why is Tamil Nadu angry now? This is where Sri Lanka got it all wrong. When the war was raging, President Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged more than once to Indian leaders that he would embark on a path of genuine political reconciliation after the LTTE became history. Not only did he renege on the promise but his words and deeds since then have given a clear impression that for all practical purposes and intent he saw the LTTE defeat as a victory for the Sinhalese - his constituency -- over the Tamils. With foresight, Rajapaksa could have publicly lamented the deaths of Tamil civilians in the war and

announced financial compensation so that families in the war zone could start new lives. He was politically so powerful then that no one in Sri Lanka could have dared him if he had unveiled a new political path that would be genuinely pluralistic. Instead, he chose to deny what everyone alleged - and which his own gloating soldiers recorded for posterity on their mobile phones. These were pictures of brutalities that would one day leak -- and become a huge liability. Even India's reluctant vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in 2012 (New Delhi repeated the vote Thursday) failed to wake up a glum Colombo, resulting in the street protests in Tamil Nadu. That this turbulence in Tamil Nadu can be counter- productive for Sri Lanka's beleaguered Tamil community is another story.

If there is a will, there is a way to reform

By Vinayshil Gautam good start to providing visible reforms would be to lubricate inter-institutional functioning. Consider the roles of the RBI, the SEBI and the Department of Economic Affairs. They rarely work in unison and offer isolated segmented interventions. While the time seems to be right for an all-round, redesign of the governance structure, it will take a long time to achieve the desired results. It is a tragedy that the good work done by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission under the chairmanship of Mr Veerappa Moily has not been systematically followed through. Had that been done in time, many of the questions now being put forward

China's sweet bait

nterestingly China and India have some things in common which matter in the overall scheme of things when it comes to become a world power. Bad for us but a reality China has already become a global power while we are still coming to terms with our regional limitations. Both India and China are great civilizations. We had Chanakya to guide our statecraft, China had Sun Tzu. While we forgot our Vishnugupta (Chanakya) the Chinese remember every word of Sun Tzu. It was in league with what the new president of China, Xi Jinping, while speaking to a group of BRICS media men, told the Indian participant that he had a five-point formula for Sino-Indian relations. The formula he proposed was effectively the same sort of framework that China had put forward in the past. And, until the deterioration in relations from about 2008 onwards, was broadly what New Delhi and Beijing had been doing as a matter of course. Xi, in other words, signalled that China would like India to forget the 2008 to 2010 interlude and kind of pretend that it didn't. But what was interesting is that his first point was the idea of "strategic communication" between the two countries. This, as far as we know and confirmed by some Indian diplomats, is the first time a Chinese leader has spoken about this in the context of bilateral ties with India. The only problem: no one in New Delhi knows what exactly this means. So what can he mean? Here's a hypothesis. First, let's consider what it does not mean. It is not about multilateral cooperation that's part of point three in the Xi formula. It's not about economic cooperation which has its own separate bullet. It's not about being third world and all that together. And it's not about being sensitive to each other's biggest irritants like Tibet and Kashmir - that's in point five. After that, one would think there isn't much left to strategically communicate about. The Sinophobes will note that in the literature of "strategic communications" the Art of War by Sun Tzu is often said to have the oldest mention of such an idea. And it isn't very positive. As he said 2,500 years ago, "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."But it is bit more mundane. Xi's foreign policy will have one main driver."Strategic communication" is really about the two sides having regular chit-chats about what exactly they are doing around the world and why. It would help dispel the worst and silliest of conspiracy theories regarding China and India. It would also help Beijing gauge how close India and the US are militarily. China wants to upstage India and has thrown a sweet bait of 'strategic communication.' Have communication till China becomes even stronger and then go in for the kill. India has to be wary of the rising Dragon. A strong national response needed to break loose of the Dragon's dragnet.

by civil society would have been answered long before they were even raised. Perhaps, it is still not too late to set up a committee under the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances to look at the feasibility of implementing the recommendations made in the Administrative Reforms Commission Report. The average Indian is essentially patient and reasonable but expects some movement towards ameliorating his condition. However, even that hope when not matched by changes on the ground cannot last long. A good start to providing visible reforms would be lubricating inter-institutional, inter-departmental and inter-ministerial function-

ing. It is no secret that even in economic and financial matters, there are multiple agencies at work. Consider the roles of the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Department of Economic Affairs. They rarely work in unison and often offer isolated segmented interventions. This shouldn't be hard to remedy, if there is political will. It also doesn't take a genius to recognise that a visible impact in financial policymaking will take place if the three institutions are brought together for creating measurable changes within the economy. Some time ago there was talk of setting up a superregulator to address this very issue. The term 'super-regulator' was by itself so self-

incriminating that no one was willing to push for it. Any intervention which cuts down or trims the operational space of an agency is bound to evoke spontaneous resistance by the affected party. And if the affected party is powerful enough, it will make sure that the proposed course of action gets stymied. The proper way of managing change is to include all agencies in creating the necessary atmosphere for this change and then subsequently convincing them of the need for the proposed course of action. Of course, in the case of financial reform, bringing together powerful regulators would require considerable effort as well as cohesiveness in their work, policy and personnel.

In other words, it is important to understand the perils of administrative reforms and that one must tread carefully for results to materialise. While this is not the place to discuss administrative reforms in its myriad forms and multiple incarnations, what must be highlighted is the need to prioritise the areas of action that need better governance. This only the Union Cabinet can do especially since several ministries will be involved, including the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, to name just a few. There is no easy way out of this web. But it is important to flag this as an agenda item for growth and devel-

opment to have a purposive direction. The contradictions internal to several regulatory processes have in fact arisen out of an extended period of non-reform. For the sake of further illustration, one can cite the role of the RBI which serves both as a regulator and the ultimate lender. This clearly needs a relook. Of course, it will be too tricky but is still do-able. To sum up, therefore, a consensus has to be built to collate all the recommendations made so far by various committees, agencies, commissions looking into administrative reforms. Then, there has to be prioritisation of action at the appropriate level of the Government which must see through the reform process with sagacity and statesmanship.

Pink Revolution is not required

BY ANURADHA DUTT olicy-makers need to ponder if there is any need for subsidising export of halal meat with taxpayers' money India under the Congress-led UPA Government is clearly on a precipitous course of regression that repudiates the great Vedantic legacy of oneness of life. Contrast this lofty philosophical assertion of the Bhagavad Gita - "The enlightened see the same Self in the Brahmin, endowed with learning and humility, the cow, the elephant, the dog and the outcaste" - with the shocking fact of the country emerging as the world's largest beef exporter. A November 2012 news report cited export forecasts released by the United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service about Indian beef exports reaching 2.16 million tonnes centum weight in 2013. This amounted to a hike from a "world leading 1.68 million tonnes cwt in 2012 - with the next closest nation in 2013, Brazil, shipping 1.45 million tonnes cwt". The huge increase in exports over the past five years is alarming, with USDA stating that in 2012, Indian beef accounted for nearly a quarter of the world beef trade. It was eight per cent in 2009. Economic reforms, in the context of the meat industry, have tragically turned India into a lucrative place for setting up abat-

toirs and sourcing meat cheaply by traders and exporters. Islamic countries, West Asia, in particular, are the main destinations. This has also led to an alarming rise in the number of illegal slaughter houses and cattle trafficking throughout the country. Union Ministry of Food Processing has reportedly set aside Rs32 crore for modernisation of all slaughter houses in India, from the standpoint of hygiene, pollution and public health. The last is ironic, given that flesh-based food is identified by medical studies as one of the principal catalysts of degenerative diseases. Guidelines have apparently been issued to State Governments. Some have been inviting tenders to set up these slaughter houses under public-private partnership schemes. Such projects entail Government giving up to 70 per cent of the cost of setting up these plants. These automated slaughter houses are meant to kill buffaloes, sheep and goats. The Uttar Pradesh Government is reported to be considering the setting up of 10 such units. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, allowed setting up of an automated abattoir in Agra when Ms Mayawati was the Chief Minister. It became operational in 2002, being licensed to slaughter 500-1,000 buffaloes a day. Allana, a Mumbai-based company that prides itself on being the biggest exporter of halal, boneless, frozen beef, was given

the contract to buy and export the beef. It has a chain of beneficiaries and commission agents. Another abattoir in Ghaziabad is currently being relocated out of a congested area. The new abattoir will be fully automated, being meant to source private trade. It is reprehensible that State Governments use public resources to fund private enterprise, that, too, in the grisly business of meat production. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly hit out at the UPA's 'Pink Revolution' - as opposed to his State's focus on 'White Revolution' (milk production) and 'Green Revolution' (agriculture) that is booming meat exports and Government subsidies for meat production. He has very rightly questioned the rationale for such a policy. Mr Modi and Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar clashed over this issue last year, with the latter denying that the Centre was promoting meat exports. He is not alone in voicing opposition. Sukrut Nirman Charitable Trust, an organisation working to save cattle in Vidarbha, has demanded that this policy, especially subsidies, be scrapped immediately. There really can be no justification for subsidising export of halal meat and the like with taxpayers' money. Such commerce has led to milk shortage and severely depleted livestock numbers. Mr

Kanakrai Savadia, managing trustee, last August submitted a memorandum in this regard to Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, but nothing came of it. Foreign buyers having got the taste of our beef, obtained it cheap even if it was sourced from buffaloes. However, one cannot discount the fact that a lot of the beef may be sourced from cows, bulls and calves, in view of uncurbed cattle trafficking. Mr Savadia reveals that Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority is providing 25 per cent to 60 per cent subsidy on transport of meat, pre-cooling facilities, cold storage, brand publicity, quality control, packaging development and so on. He also avers that there is exemption from sales tax and income tax. Private companies run most of the automated export-oriented slaughter houses. They earn huge profits while polluting water systems and engendering diseases. One might add that they also erode the ancient Indic ethos of reverence for life and nature. The Panchatantra, ancient animal and bird fables, compiled between the second and third centuries BC, and which inspired such tales across the world, pertinently raised this question:"If one can go to heaven by cutting down trees, killing animals and letting of blood of injured beings, then, who will go to hell?" Policy-makers need to ponder over this.

Positive signal
Dear sir The recent visit by the president, Pranab Mukherjee, to Bangladesh can be considered a landmark as far as improving ties with the neighbouring country is concerned . The easy way out could have been to call off the visit citing security threats. But Mukherjee braved the odds and decided to go ahead with the trip. His statements upholding the Shahbag movement must have encouraged the youth of that country who are fighting for the cause of democracy. The talks, even though they were informal, would have smoothened the ruffled feathers on both sides. Years back, when Mukherjee was

a first-term member of parliament, he was noticed by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, "for his impatience in passionately arguing that India was not moving fast enough on Bangladesh." One hopes that Mamata Banerjee will take a leaf out of Mukherjee's book so that the Teesta water deadlock can be resolved. A resolution would go a long way in improving ties with Bangladesh. The Sheikh Hasina Wajed government has had to take a number of tough decisions following the political turmoil in Bangladesh. India must now step in and work with Bangladesh in its time of need. Mukherjee's visit may not have held much diplomatic significance. Nonetheless it can be considered as a positive move. Yours etc. Dhiraj Gupta Nagrota,Jammu

Bleak future
Dear sir It is a pity that thousands of engineers in India remain jobless and have to run from pillar to post to look for employment. Engineering colleges and technical institutes have mushroomed all over the country. But students passing out from these institutions remain unemployed. Campus placements, too, have dried up. The government should step in and provide adequate employment opportunities to not only the unemployed but also the experienced engineers who have lost their jobs. Yours etc. Parshotam Kumar Thatri,Doda

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

NATIONAL

Sanjay Dutt should be pardoned on humanitarian grounds: Katju

'Govt will take cognisance of Justice Katju's statement':Tewari
NEW DELHI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was sentenced to five years in prison in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, had suffered for 20 years and should be pardoned on humanitarian grounds, Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju said Friday. "I have sent an appeal to the Maharashtra governor requesting him to pardon Sanjay Dutt. I have said this on humanitarian reasons," the former Supreme Court judge said. While the Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders are in favour of granting pardon to Dutt, the BJP and Janata Party want no leniency shown to the Bollywood actor. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Friday said there are various aspects to this issue, and added that the government will take his statement into cognisance. Tewari said Justice Katju has been a very eminent judge of the Supreme Court. "Whenever Justice Katju articulates a position on a certain issue, people both inside and outside government listen to it very seriously; but there are various aspects to this issue," Tewari told mediapersons outside Parliament here. "And I am sure that those people within government, whether at the state government-level or at the level of various other instrumentalities of government who are actor had not been found guilty of playing a role in the 1993 blasts and had suffered a lot. He said the Supreme Court found that Sanjay Dutt had in his possession a prohibited weapon without a licence and awarded him the minimum imprisonment prescribed under law. "There is no doubt that the Governor can grant pardon or reduce the sentence. In the case of Commander Nanavati, who was held guilty of murder, the Governor gave him pardon although the minimum sentence for murder is life term," he said in a statement. Justice Katju said, ''Although Dutt had committed an offence, there are extenuating circumstances, such as that the event happened 20 years ago." "During this period, Sanjay suffered a lot and had a cloud hovering over his head throughout. He had to undergo various tribulations and indignities during this period," he said. The Press Council chief said Dutt had already spent 18 months in jail, had married and has two children. "He has not been held to be a terrorist and had no hand in the bomb blasts. His parents Sunil Dutt and Nargis worked for the good of society and the nation. Sunil Dutt and Nargis often went to border areas to give moral support to our brave jawans and did other social work for the society," he said.

BJP kicks off poll campaign in Karnataka

BANGALORE: The ruling BJP kicked off the campaign for the May 5 Assembly polls in Karnataka with a rally in Mysore on Friday and sought to downplay the threat posed by breakaway party headed by BS Yeddyurappa. Chanting the unity mantra, key players -- Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa besides newly appointed state unit president Prahlad Joshi and senior party leader HN Ananth Kumar -- were present at the "Vijayasankalpa Samavesha" in Mysore. "There will be a triangular contest in major portions of Karnataka. In some places, it would be Congress and BJP and in others it would be Congress, JDS and BJP", Joshi, who has an organisational and RSS background, told reporters. Asked about the Karnataka Janatha Pary, floated by former chief minister Yeddyurappa after quitting the BJP late last year, he pointed out that the KJP has not even won a single seat in 147 Assembly constituencies in the recent elections to urban local bodies (ULB). Joshi claimed that people are now convinced that voting for smaller parties -referring to KJP and the BSR Congress of former BJP minister BS Sriramulu -- who secured low single digit percentage of votes in ULB polls, in the Assembly Elections is going to be a "waste", and BJP would strive to get this message across to a wider section of the electorate. Shettar said the BJP government has successfully completed its term, and is confident that it would come back to power with a clear majority. BJP sources said the party would invite Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning in the State. Joshi's appointment is seen by some BJP leaders as consolidation of position by Ananth Kumar in the party's state affairs. Speculation that some Ministers, particularly Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, are mulling to join forces with KJP have persisted. Meanwhile, Sriramulu has dismissed speculation in some sections that his party, which fared poorly in the ULB polls, might be trying to have a tie-up with the BJP or merge with it, asserting that BSR Congress would go it alone in the assembly elections.

seized with the responsibility of dealing with this issue would take that statement into cognisance and then if required formulate an appropriate response and come back to you," he added. In a letter to the Maharashtra Governor,

Justice Katju sought pardon for Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail by the Supreme Court in an arms case related to the 1993 Bombay blasts. Justice Katju, who sought pardon for Dutt under Article 161 of the Constitution, said the

Arrests of Telangana leaders BJP walks out of Himachal assembly over renaming of schemes rock Andhra assembly
HYDERABAD: The arrest of top Telangana leaders during a road blockade rocked the Andhra Pradesh assembly Friday with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) stalling the proceedings and ultimately forcing the house to be adjourned for the day. Speaker N. Manohar had to adjourn the house amid pandemonium as the protesting TRS members sat near his podium, shouting antigovernment slogans. However, the legislators of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) remained seated in the house, demanding the speaker to clarify when the issue of electricity shortage would be debated. They refused to leave the house till the speaker gives them an assurance. The speaker adjourned the house twice and the third time till Saturday as his repeated appeals to members to allow him to take up the listed business fell on deaf ears. Holding placards and raising 'Jai Telangana' slogans, the TRS members rushed to the speaker's podium after he rejected their adjournment motion on the arrests. Two TRS legislators, Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) convenor issues, especially electricity shortage. The TDP members SHIMLA, MARCH 13 : The BJP Wednesday walked out from the Himachal Pradesh assembly over the state government's move to change names of schemes and projects named after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As the house assembled, BJP members asked about the fate of their notice on adjournment motion on the issue. Speaker B.B. Butail said the notice given by them was under consideration and they would be allowed to hold discussion on the issue sometime later in the session. But the opposition insisted on immediate discussion. Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal insisted that the discussion be listed on Wednesday's agenda. He said the state's budget would be presented Thursday and then the discussion on budget would follow in the coming days. "If the discussion is not allowed today, it will go beyond March 31. This issue is very important. If the discussion is listed after so much delay, it will lose urgency," Dhumal said. taking power, the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government has begun erasing the former prime minister's name

M. Kodandaram and five other top leaders were arrested by police in Mahabubnagar district Thursday for trying to stop traffic on HyderabadBangalore highway in a protest to demand a separate Telangana state. They were remanded to judicial custody till April 4. TRS leader Harish Rao alleged that the government was trying to suppress the peaceful protest by arresting hundreds of activists and leaders. Meanwhile, TDP and other opposition parties lodged their protest with the speaker for adjourning the house repeatedly, thus denying them an opportunity to debate people's burning

refused to leave the house even after the speaker adjourned it for the day. Leaders of other opposition parties called also urged the speaker to find a solution to run the house. The house has not taken up debate on any issue since the budget session began March 13 as TRS is stalling the proceedings almost daily, demanding the house to pass a resolution to urge the central government to carve out Telangana state. The speaker had to suspend TRS legislators from the house for a day on March 18 to enable Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy to table the state budget for 2013-14.

This agitated the opposition members and they started raising slogans against the government. The question hour, however, continued in the midst of the ruckus. Later, they staged a walkout. The speaker said: "It's unfortunate that some members staged a walk-out despite my assurance to them that they will be given an opportunity for discussion". Earlier, Butail exhorted all members to ensure that the house ran peacefully. Official sources said that less than three months after

from many state-run schemes. Of the dozen-odd schemes named after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader when the party ruled the state, some schemes have been scrapped and others renamed. While the plan to distribute bags with Vajpayee's photos embossed on them has been axed, the names of Atal Swasthya Seva, a free ambulance service, and the Atal School Uniform Scheme, which benefits around 10 lakh students, have been has been changed.

India expresses concern over use of chemical weapons in Syria

NEW DELHI: India on Friday expressed concern over reports of alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria and stressed the need to ensure safe and secure custody of chemical weapons stockpiles to prevent access to terrorists and non-state actors. "We have noted with concern reports regarding alleged use of chemical weapons near Aleppo in northern Syria. The UN, in cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), would be investigating these reports," official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said. He said as an original signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, India attaches utmost importance to the complete destruction and elimination of chemical weapons worldwide. "We stress that the international legal norm against the use of chemical weapons anywhere must not be breached. It is important to ensure the safe and secure custody of chemical weapons stockpiles and to prevent access to terrorists and non-state actors," the spokesperson added. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had already announced yesterday that the world body will investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in an attack in Syria. The decision follows a request in this regard by the Syrian authorities, Ban had said. "The investigation mission is to look into the specific incident brought to my attention by the Syrian Government... There are other allegations of similar cases involving the reported use of chemical weapons," he said.

China proposes border defence pact, India to go slow

NEW DELHI: China today proposed a border defence cooperation agreement to avoid any misunderstanding or flare up along the boundary but India is not rushing into it as wants to study the proposal thoroughly. During a Secretary-level meeting here, the two sides decided to hold Army-toArmy counter-terrorism exercise in China this year. The dates would be finalised during the visit of an Indian Army delegation to China next month. The Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma. At the meeting, the Chinese delegation led by its Deputy Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Qi Jianguo proposed an agreement under which troops of the two countries will not tail each other if noticed during patrolling along the disputed Line of Actual Control, sources said. The proposal also has a clause which suggests that troops of either side will not fire at each other under each other under any condition, they said. However, the Indian side gave no commitment, the sources said. India wants to study the proposal thoroughly and do due diligence before taking any decision. The Chinese side had discussed these proposals informally during the ADD also but India had then asked it to submit these points in a formal manner at a later stage. The Army-to-Army exercise would be held after a gap of around five years. The first one was held in 2007 in Kunming in China while the second edition was held in Belgaum in Karnataka in December 2008. The exercises were stopped after tensions between the two sides over denial of visa to the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal in 2010 and issuing of stapled visa to residents of Jammu and Kashmir by China. During the meeting, both sides agreed to finalise the plan of bilateral exchanges between the armed forces of India and China. It has been decided that exchanges will be conducted between the Armies, Navies and Air Forces on both sides, the Defence Ministry said in a release. It was agreed that strengthening of exchanges between the armed forces should be carried out as a way of building mutual trust and confidence and consistent with the overall bilateral relationship between both countries, the release said. Sharma and Qi also discussed issues relating to the regional security situation. The Chinese Lt Gen also called on Defence Minister A K Antony and conveyed that the new leadership in China attaches high priority to consolidate cooperative relations with India in all spheres.

CBI registers case in disappearance of Ramdev's guru

NEW DELHI: CBI has registered a case in connection with alleged kidnapping of yoga exponent Ramdev's guru Swami Shankar Dev who mysteriously went missing six years ago while taking a morning walk in Haridwar. CBI sources said a case under Section 365 of Indian Penal code against unknown persons. The section pertains to kidnapping or abducting and wrongful confinement. Uttarakhand Police registered a case of abduction to probe the disappearance of Dev, who had been living in Ramdev's ashram but was missing since July 2007 when he had gone out for a morning walk. The FIR was reportedly filed by Ramdev's aide Acharya Balkrishna at Kankhal police station three days after the Swami went missing under mysterious circumstances. The state government had earlier sent a request to CBI in October last year to probe the case but the same was rejected as the state police had not even registered a case, the basic formality before the agency takes up the probe. Swami Shankar Dev was the founder of Divya Yog Mandir Trust, currently headed by Ramdev who is under scanner for alleged violations in labelling of some of the products of the Trust. Ramdev had earlier welcomed the decision of the government for a CBI probe into the disappearance of his guru. Ramdev and his trusts are facing a number of probes by the Income Tax, Service Tax and Enforcement Directorate for alleged evasion of taxes and irregularities in complying with forex laws.

Mamata links rise in rape cases to population increase

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday linked rising cases of rapes to increase in the population, while claiming that there were only 45 such cases till November 2012 in Kolkata in comparison to 621 in Delhi in the same year. "The population is increasing. Is the population in West Bengal the same as it was during the time of Bidhan Chandra Roy? You have raised many questions on law and order. You are saying that rapes are increasing," Banerjee told the Assembly. "The population is increasing, cars are increasing, infrastructure is increasing, shopping malls are increasing. Inoxes (multiplex) are coming up. Young people are becoming modern. Don't you welcome it?" she asked while winding up the debate on the Governor's address. Alleging that newspapers were deliberately exaggerating rape cases, she said that

Parliament adjourned for recess till 22nd April

NEW DELHI:The issue of Sri Lankan Tamils forced repeated adjournments of both the Houses of Parliament friday. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day to meet on 22nd April after the recess. The Rajya Sabha, which witnessed two adjournments, was finally adjourned for the day amidst noisy scenes. As soon as the two Houses reassembled at Noon after the first adjournment, DMK and AIADMK members again trooped into the well displaying placards on the alleged betrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils during the voting in the UN Human Rights Council meeting yesterday. In the midst of din, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid tabled a statement on the return of the two Italian marines to India in the fishermen killing case. He said the Supreme Court will be informed about the recent developments on the issue. The Minister said the two marines will not be arrested since they will have fulfilled the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court for their release to travel to Italy for four weeks. Mr Khurshid said New Delhi has allayed the apprehension of the Italian government that this case does not fall under the category of the rarest of rare cases and will not attract death penalty. During the first phase of the Budget session which began on 21st of last month, apart from passage of Appropriation Bills related to Railways and General Budget, two important bills on safety of women were passed in Parliament. These are the Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Work Place and Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2013. The Parliament also unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the resolution passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan protesting the hanging of a convict in Parliament attack case.

Anti-Sri Lanka protests in Tamil Nadu claim second life

CHENNAI: A 30-year-old man on Friday died after setting himself ablaze here over Sri Lankan Tamils' issue, said police as protests continued against the island nation's government across the state. Vikram suffered severe burns after he set himself ablaze at an anti-Sri Lanka protest in a suburban area here Thursday night. He was taken to a government hospital, where he died later of his injuries. He is the second person to immolate himself in the on-going protests. Earlier this month, Mani of Cuddalore district died after he too set himself ablaze, demanding action against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for war crimes committed against the Tamils there. Protesting activists also demanded referendum among Lankan Tamils for creation of a separate Tamil 'Eelam' state. Lawyers in temple town Madurai and Salem district also staged demonstrations against Sri Lanka.

earlier women felt shy of reporting such cases. "There has been an increase in social consciousness. Now they are registering complaints. This is a good sign. Earlier complaints were not even registered," the Chief Minister said. Stating that there should not be even one case of rape, she cited statistics for Kolkata saying that there were 44 rape cases in 2007, 35 in 2008, 42 in 2009, 32 in 2010, 38 in 2011 and 45 in 2012. In the state there were 1,673 rape cases in 2005, 1,693 in 2006, 2,062 in 2007, 2,228 in 2008, 2,292 in 2009, 2,279 in 2010, 1,650 in 2011 and 1,836 up to November in 2012.

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

Emergency declared in Myanmar's Meikhtila Obama urges Israel to stop building Jewish settlements
YANGON: A state of emergency was declared on Friday in four townships of Meikhtila district in northern Myanmar as 10 people were killed and 45 others injured in riots that began on Wednesday, officials said. The four townships in the northern Mandalay region are Meikhtila, Wandwin, Mahlaing and Thazi. A total of 10 people, including a Buddhist monk, have been killed and 45 others injured in violence in Meikhtila since Wednesday, hospital officials said. The announcement by brawl between buyers and sellers over a bit of gold clip at a gold shop Wednesday. During clashes between two groups numbering over 200 people, the gold shop and other nearby shops, religious and office buildings and many vehicles were burnt by the rioters. Since Wednesday night, curfew has been imposed in Meiktila, banning gatherings of more than five people. More than 3,000 people have been left homeless in Meikhtila, which has a population of around 500,000. JERUSALEM: US President Barack Obama called on the Israeli government to stop building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying continued settlement activity was "counterproductive" to peace. Obama, who is on a threeday state visit in Israel, made the appeal during a keynote speech to Israeli students, officials said. The US president said an independent and viable Palestinian state was the only way to guarantee the peace and security of Israel and that he believed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is a "true partner" for peace with Israel. "Israelis must recognize that continued settlement activity is counterproductive to the cause of peace, and that an independent Palestine must be viable, that real borviolence against Palestinians goes unpunished... it is not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands or the Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land," Obama said it to the applauding audience. The Israel-Palestinian conflict is one of the agendas of Obama's first visit to Israel as US president. He discussed the stalled peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting and with Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah, the West Bank. The Israel-Palestinian peace talks have stalled since 2010 after the Israeli government led by then Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to extend a freeze on the settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to build their own state.

President U Thein Sein said emergency was declared because administration in the region cannot be carried out effectively by local authorities, and for the sake of security, stability and

tranquility in the region. Under the state of emergency, armed forces would intervene for the restoration of law and order, the announcement said. The riot was sparked by a

Musharraf gets bail ahead of Sarkozy charged in probe of return to Pakistan illegal party funding
arrival, protective bail in all three cases," Musharraf's lawyer Ahmad Raza Kasuri said. Judge Sajjad Ali Shah posted bail at 300,000 rupees ($3,000) over the 2007 sacking of judges, the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the southwest and the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Musharraf cannot be arrested for 10 days in connection with the judges' arrests and for 14 days in connection with the other two cases. "He has full protection now and he cannot be arrested in these cases upon his arrival in Pakistan," Salman Safdar, another Musharraf lawyer said. After the court decision, a handful of activists from Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party flashed victory signs and chanted "Long Live Musharraf" and "Musharraf will come back, he will bring prosperity". BORDEAUX: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with taking financial advantage of France's richest woman, allegations connected with a probe into illegal party funding that could shatter his hopes of a political comeback. His lawyers said they would appeal against the decision to formally investigate Sarkozy over allegations he took advantage of elderly L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when she was weakened by poor health. He was unexpectedly summoned yesterday to the Bordeaux offices of JeanMichel Gentil, the judge in charge of the case, for face-toface encounters with at least four former members of Bettencourt's staff. The surprise confrontation was over claims he had accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from the world's richest woman to fund his 2007 election campaign. Gentil was seeking to establish how many times Sarkozy had visited Bettencourt during his successful campaign. Sarkozy, 58, has always maintained that he visited Bettencourt's residence only once during the campaign, to meet her late husband. That version of events however has been contradicted by members of the multi-billionaire's staff. Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog lambasted the decision to pursue his client as "legally incoherent and unfair". He said he would immediately initiate proceedings to have the charges dropped. France's legal system has nothing that exactly matches the charges or indictments brought in English, or US courts; but an investigating judge's decision to place someone under judicial investigation is the closest equivalent. The allegation is that Sarkozy obtained significant amounts of money from her, simultaneously breaching electoral spending limits and taking advantage of a person weakened by ill health.

ders will have to be drawn. " While calling on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Obama said the Palestinians also have a right to self-determination. "It is not just when settler

restrict Palestinian students from moving around their lands or displacing Palestinian families from their homes; "Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer; nor just as Israel has built a state in their own land,

Climber George Lowe who helped Hillary conquer Everest dies

WELLINGTON: New Zealander George Lowe, the last surviving climber from the expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary that conquered Everest in 1953, has died aged 89. Hillary's son Peter said Lowe's death in a nursing home in the British town of Ripley on Wednesday marked the end of an era in mountaineering. "George was one of the great climbers on the 1953 Everest expedition." The expedition gained worldwide acclaim after Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world's highest mountain on May 29, 1953 a feat that had defied mountaineers for decades. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Lowe was part of an expedition that was still a source of pride for the country. "George Lowe, along with fellow Kiwi Sir Edmund mentary "The Conquest of Everest". It was Lowe to whom anniversary of the achievement British publisher Polar world said the book, titled "Letters from Everest", would still be released at the request of Lowe's widow Mary. "He was one of the lead climbers, forging the route up Everest's Lhotse Face without oxygen and later cutting steps for his partners up the summit ridge," publisher Kari Herbert said in a statement. She said Lowe's peers described his contribution to the expedition as "an epic achievement of tenacity and skill" but he remained modest about the feat. "For his own part, George was just happy to be on the mountain, playing his part in something incredible, doing something he loved," she said. Hillary died in 2008 aged 88 and Norgay in 1986 at 71.

KARACHI: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Friday granted protective bail in a series of legal cases, allowing him to return from exile without being arrested immediately. Musharraf, who seized power in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in 2008, has vowed to return home on Sunday to contest the May 11 general election, but is wanted in Pakistan for conspiracy to murder and illegally arresting judges. To preclude the prospect of his arrest on arrival, his daughter, Ayla Raza, petitioned a court in Karachi on his behalf for protective bail. "He has been given pre-

Hillary, made New Zealand a household name when, along with the other members of the Everest expedition, (they) conquered the mountain in 1953," he said. Lowe helped Hillary and Norgay prepare for the final push to the summit and photographed the expedition's last stages, using the material in an Oscar-nominated docu-

Hillary addressed his laconic famous remark after he and Norgay made their descent after an achievement hailed as one the 20th century's greatest feats of exploration - "Well, we knocked the bastard off." He said Lowe "slipped off the radar" in his final years but had recently completed a memoir to mark the 60th

ECONOMY

Bank loans to infra projects are secured lending: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry on Friday said loans extended by banks to infrastructure projects, especially in the roads and power sector, will be treated as secured finance even in the absence of tangible collaterals. "This implies that the rights, licenses, authorisation, etc., charged to the banks as collateral in respect the debts of infrastructure projects being implemented under PPP mode and having model concession agreements will now be treated as secured lending," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. However, the earlier notification of RBI did not reckon intangible securities such as boosting infrastructure financing, especially for the projects in roads and power sector as cured, it said. The new projects will be immediate beneficiaries, as banks will find them more comfortable and attractive for financing, it added. Earlier this week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had called the stalled projects worrying. He had said steps were being taken to ensure that the impediments are removed and credit flow takes place. As many as 215 projects with an investment of Rs 7 lakh crore are currently stalled and banks have disbursed about Rs 54,000 crore loans towards it, Chidambaram had said.

Thirty banks to switch to riskbased supervision from April 1

MUMBAI: Thirty large banks have informed the Reserve Bank of India that they are ready to switch to the new uniform risk-based supervision system from April 1, which will enable them to assess their risks on a real-time basis. "The risk-based supervision system is likely to be implemented from April 1. The RBI has decided to implement it in 30 large banks. These banks were called for a meeting today with the RBI," Indian Banks Association chairman and PNB chief K R Kamath said after the meeting with the top RBI brass led by deputy governor KC Chakrabarty. The new system will bring in a uniform methodology to check the health of the banking system, as against the CAMESL framework used at present which follows a compliance-based and transaction-testing approach. The new system will bring the banking supervision practices in India at par with the best practices in the world. "We discussed how the risk-based supervision would shape up," State Bank of India chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said. When asked about the changes the banks will have to bring following the implementation of the new system, Mr Kamath said, "there are many ambiguities today with banks reporting so many things with their own definitions. The idea is to see that you have one uniform norm through which everybody can report."

Must take steps against money laundering: Subbarao

rights and license, it said. The move is aimed at

debt to such projects are costly, as well as risky and unse-

Mitsubishi Electric mulls elevator factory in India

CHENNAI: Japan's Mitsubishi Electric is exploring options to set up a production base in India through its joint venture Mitsubishi Elevator ETA India Pvt. Ltd., a top company official said. "We are planning to set up a factory in India. However, as a first step we will set up logistics centre near here which will take care of sheet metal items needed for the elevators. We will also outsource some of the items," said Bharat Vishnani, deputy chief executive officer. According to Vishnani, the Rs.49 crore equity based Mitsubishi Elevator ETA is a fourway joint venture between Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (holding 40 percent stake), Mitsubishi Electric Building Techno-Service Co. Ltd. (five percent); Mitsubishi Corporation (10 percent); and ETA Ascon Holding LLC (45 percent). The joint venture was formed by taking over a Mitsubishi elevator distribution company ETA Melco Engg Pvt. Ltd. with a turnover of around Rs.1 billion, he said. Vishnani said the company is exploring the opportunity to set up a plant here given the fact global majors like Kone Elevators have production facilities in India. Recently, another Japanese company Toshiba joint hands with city-based elevator

Sensex falls for 6th day, hits 4 month low

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex fell for the sixth straight day, on Friday closed 57 points down at a new four-month low of 18,735.60 on worries that economic reform momentum may slacken and global sentiment remained weak as a solution for the Cyprus issue continued to prove elusive. The Sensex declined 57 points or 0.30 per cent to 18,736, while the Nifty retreated 7 points to 5,651 after see-saw trade on Friday. Indian stock markets have hit a four-month low with the Sensex falling over 900 points in the last 10 sessions. Markets have been under pressure after the Reserve Bank stuck to its cautious stance on future rate cuts and the DMK pulled out of the UPA government, creating political uncertainty.

Gold, silver up on stockist buying

NEW DELHI: Both the precious metals, gold and silver, recovered on Friday on fresh buying by stockists supported by a firm global trend. While gold recovered by Rs 80 to Rs 30,330 per 10 grams, silver rebounded by Rs 430 to Rs 55,180 per kg on increased offtake by jewellers and industrial units. Traders said fresh buying by stockists supported by a firm global trend mainly led to the recovery in both the precious metals. Gold in New York, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, rose by USD 8.10 to USD 1,614.80 an ounce and silver by 1.25 percent to USD 29.18 an ounce. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 percent purity recovered by Rs 80 each to Rs 30,330 and Rs 30,130 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs 120 yesterday. However, sovereigns held steady at Rs 25,300 per piece of eight grams in limited deals. In line with a general firm trend, silver ready rebounded by Rs 430 to Rs 55,180 per kg and weeklybased delivery by Rs 54,835 per kg. The white metal had declined by Rs 250 in the previous session. Silver coins continued to be asked around previous level of Rs 82,000 for buying and Rs 83,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

manufacturer Johnson Lifts for high-speed lifts. Queried about the delay in Mitsubishi Electric firming up its India plans, Masahito Endo, managing director and chief executive of the Indian company, said: "We were focused on the Chinese market which was around 400,000 units per year." Vishnani said that last year the Indian elevator market was pegged at around 44,000 units and is expected to grow at around 8-10 percent this year. He said the new joint venture has also taken over the operation and maintenance contract business of ETA Melco Engg. In 2012, around 1,600 Mitsubishi brand elevators and escalators were sold in the country. This year, the number will go up further as the logistics centre will be ready by September, Vishnani said. The cumulative sales of Mitsubishi brand of elevators and escalators in the country will soon touch 10,000 units. The company will also look at tier two towns for market growth, he added.

BANGALORE: There is a need for action to prevent money laundering in the country following recent allegations against three large private sector banks, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Friday. "I can't at this time say or make a broad sweeping statement that there are no transactions taking place at all, but I believe the system is largely safe," Mr Subbarao said in response to a question at a banking industry gathering. "However, there is need for some corrective action. We are going to the head offices of all those banks to

check what the system is for detecting management-level control over these transactions," the RBI governor added. The apex bank on Monday said it had started a probe at ICICI Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd after an independent investigative journalist said last week he had video evidence showing suspected money laundering practices at their branches. The report hit the banks' shares. The Reserve Bank is also conducting a study of the banking system on whether there are enough controls to prevent such incidents, he said.

Suzlon appoints Amit Agarwal as chief financial officer

MUMBAI: Suzlon Group, the world's fifth-largest wind turbine maker, has appointed Amit Agarwal as chief financial officer of its wholly owned unit Suzlon Energy Ltd. Agarwal will take over from Kirti Vagadia, who will become the head of finance of Suzlon Group, which also includes its wholly owned German unit REpower, the company said in a statement on Friday. Agarwal previously worked as chief financial officer of India's Essar Steel, and in his new role will report to Suzlon Group Chairman Tulsi Tanti, the statement said. Suzlon's lenders in January approved a plan to restructure $1.8 billion of debt after the company defaulted on a $200 million convertible bond redemption last October. The company had net debt of about $2.5 billion at the end of December.

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

MISC

4th test: Australia end day one at 231/8

NEW DELHI: Australia made 231 for eight on the first day of the fourth and final Test against India here at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium on Friday. Australia won their fourth consecutive toss of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and elected to bat first under Shane Warne who was captaining the Australian side in place of the injured Michael Clarke. They made a disastrous start losing David Warner at the score of only four runs. However, Ed Cowan (38) and Phillip Hughes (45) made recovery adding 67 but later Australia were losing wickets at regular intervals and ended the day at 231-8. Other main contributors were Steven Smith (46) and Peter Siddle (47 not out) For India, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the best bowler for India on the day, taking four wickets for 40 runs while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamer ishant Sharma claimed two wickets each. India leads the series 3-0 after convincing wins in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mohali.

Silence and Peace around a nap is must.

Minister for Higher Education taking a nap in assembly.

Vipul, Diksha share badminton titles

JAMMU: State top seed, Vipul Saini and Diksha on Friday clinched the men's and women's titles respectively in the Open Badminton Tournament which was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police Range Office Jammu under Civic Action Programme. In the men's final, state champion, Vipul outplayed Aman Badyal in straight sets. Earlier, in women's singles final, Diksha registered win over Prabhjot Kour. The finals were followed by the prize distribution function wherein Inspector General of Police Armed, Jammu Zone, PR Manhas was chief guest. He gave away winners and runnersup trophies in all the age categories. Valedictory function was also attended by senior police officers including DIG IR Jammu, T Punchok. Earlier, speaking to the gathering, organizing secretary of the competition, DIG Armed Police Jammu, Johnny William presented a brief note of the event and expressed his happiness for over whelming response from young and budding shuttlers.

JAMMU, MARCH 21: The gold smiths of Jammu known for their traditional art and finesse all over the country are nowadays fearing that their ancestral trade may not become a thing of past. The grave apprehensions to this effect were expressed by the general Secretary of the Swarankar Sangh Ajay Vaid while interacting with the Student Age Correspondent. He said that the rapid fluctuation in the rates of gold has put the poor goldsmiths in a very risky position and if the prices do not stablise they will have to look for other jobs to make their both ends meet. Vaid further said that the rates of gold were Rs33200 per ten grams a couple of days earlier and then plummeted to Rs29000. The rate of fluctuation is so severe that it has hit the rock bottom margins of the slender profits of the gold smiths. This he mentioned has made the future of goldsmiths risky. Adding further, Vaid said that that the hourly fluctuations in gold prices had affected their credibility among their customers who too are at the receiving end of the price fluctuation.

Jammu goldsmiths at the verge of closing shops

Rapid fluctuation in the rates of gold has put the poor goldsmiths in a very risky position and if the prices do not stablise they will have to look for other jobs to make their both ends meet. AJAY VAID General Secretary Swarankar Sangh

Erratic price of gold affecting their trade

Jammu district wins Foil, Sabre gold

KATRA: Jammu district dominated the opening day winning both Foil and Sabre team gold medals decided in under-14 boys' category in the 11th State Open State Fencing Championship started today at Hotel Ashok of the holy town of Katra in district Reasi. In under-14 boys Sabre team event, second position went to Reasi while Kathua and Udhampur bagged third place. Similarly, in Foil team event, district Udhampur remained runners-up while Reasi and Kathua districts shared third place. Meanwhile, in under-20 men's individual Sabre event, Koushal Sharma and Javed Ahmed have reached the final. Earlier, the three-day competition was declared open by SSP Reasi, Raghubir Singh in a well attended function.

He asked the government to take stock of their plight and devise ways and mean whereby the interests of the small and marginal gold-

smiths are safeguarded otherwise there is every possibility that their hundreds of years old profession may come to a sad end.

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